Captive breeding of Dipsochelys giant tortoises
نویسنده
چکیده
The Seychelles Giant Tortoise Conservation Project captive breeding programme for the Seychelles tortoises Dipsochelys arnoldi and D. hololissa is described. Successful hatching occurred in 2002 and the reasons for this success discussed. Important factors are enclosure design, social structure and the use of artificial incubation. Methods for sexing hatchlings are discussed. There may be great potential in manipulating social structure to encourage breeding in otherwise difficult taxa, such as the Galapagos tortoise Chelonoidis nigra.
منابع مشابه
Native Seychelles tortoises or Aldabran imports? The importance of radiocarbon dating for ancient DNA studies
The living and extinct giant tortoises of the western Indian Ocean islands have been extensively studied in recent times (Bourn et al., 1999; Austin and Arnold, 2001; Palkovacs et al., 2002; Austin et al., 2003; Palkovacs et al., 2003). Currently, indigenous wild populations of Indian Ocean giant tortoises (genus Dipsochelys) occur only on the island of Aldabra, northwest of Madagascar, with mo...
متن کاملRaising giant tortoises
Captive breeding and rearing giant tortoises still represents a challenge and little scientific evidence is available on the requirements of juvenile and adult giant tortoises. Zoo veterinarians must know that developmental diseases are the main risk in the raising process. Respiratory tract disease, endoparasites and biting are other pathologic conditions that have been observed in juvenile gi...
متن کاملThe evolutionary origin of Indian Ocean tortoises (Dipsochelys).
Today, the only surviving wild population of giant tortoises in the Indian Ocean occurs on the island of Aldabra. However, giant tortoises once inhabited islands throughout the western Indian Ocean. Madagascar, Africa, and India have all been suggested as possible sources of colonization for these islands. To address the origin of Indian Ocean tortoises (Dipsochelys, formerly Geochelone gigante...
متن کاملBiogeography of Parasitic Nematode Communities in the Galápagos Giant Tortoise: Implications for Conservation Management
The Galápagos giant tortoise is an icon of the unique, endemic biodiversity of Galápagos, but little is known of its parasitic fauna. We assessed the diversity of parasitic nematode communities and their spatial distributions within four wild tortoise populations comprising three species across three Galápagos islands, and consider their implication for Galápagos tortoise conservation programme...
متن کاملAre the native giant tortoises from the Seychelles really extinct? A genetic perspective based on mtDNA and microsatellite data.
The extinction of the giant tortoises of the Seychelles Archipelago has long been suspected but is not beyond doubt. A recent morphological study of the giant tortoises of the western Indian Ocean concluded that specimens of two native Seychelles species survive in captivity today alongside giant tortoises of Aldabra, which are numerous in zoos as well as in the wild. This claim has been contro...
متن کامل