20 Endangered Elongated Tortoises Return Home

Yesterday we said goodbye to 20 endangered elongated tortoise (Indotestudo elongata) as we released back to the wildt a a secret location within a protected area. They were all rescued from various circumstances over the last year. As we are in the rainy season, food sources are abundant, so they have the best chance at a new wild life. Run Free Little Ones!!!

The elongated tortoise is listed as Endangered (EN) by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, it is under extreme pressure across most of its range, largely due to it being widely harvested and sold on the Asian food markets. Disregard for international conservation laws is apparent, with the trade in tortoises brisk, highly developed, and probably ignored by many border guards, customs officials, and airline personnel. Like many other tortoise species, the elongated tortoise is also sold as part of the pet trade. It is also threatened by the habitat destruction, fragmentation and loss, that accompanies human commercial and residential expansion. This species has undergone severe population declines.