Shellshock
EAZA Turtle and Tortoise Campaign 2004/5
Activities
Shellshock news from Plzen Zoo - February 2005
The Shellshock Campaign was launched in Plzen Zoo during the Christmas season of 2004.
An information centre was created near the enclosure of spiny hill turtles (Heosemys spinosa). These animals were confiscated in Hong Kong and are kept in an Indonesian exhibit together with Varanus beccarii, Emydura subglobosa and Python curtus.
In the information centre a sad giant tortoise tells the story of the disappearance of these fantastic creatures from our planet. In contrast with this sad tortoise, a cheerful sea turtle shows what we are doing and what we can do to save them from extinction.
Two interactive books can be found in the information centre. A red one, containing pictures of all endangered species kept at Plzen Zoo and their status in other EAZA institutions. And a green one showing pictures of all species bred in Plzen and their numbers of offspring. The history of the Hong Kong confiscation is also documented in this book. A picture of Yunnan box turtle (Cuora yunnanensis) displayed on the collection box asks for the help of visitors and explains how they can help by purchasing turtle souvenirs in our zoo shop. It is very good news that a Yunnan box turtle has been found in the wild and that consequently we already had to change the status of the Yunnan box turtle on the label in the display.
We now keep 46 species of turtles and tortoises in Plzen Zoo and its rescue centre for confiscated animals. Until now we have successfully bred 11 of these species. The facility for breeding Madagascan species has been completely rebuilt in January of this year and a spacious enclosure for Indian star tortoises (Geochelone elegans) is under construction. We hope that the number of breeding species will increase and that we can again contribute to the conservation of Chelonian biodiversity; both ex situ and in situ through the Shellshock Campaign.
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