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Latest news about the TortoiseCare Project

Newly hatched Egyptian Tortoise

August 21st, 1999 - 182 Babies and still hatching!

TortoiseCare, a program for the captive breeding and reintroduction of the Egyptian Tortoise is going well.

Ms. Esther Wenman and Dr. Gian Lorenzo D'alterio, Zoological Society of London (ZSL) visited Egypt in May 1999 to help with the project. There was a visit to the Zaranik Protected Area to monitor the radio tagged animals and release further animals into the enclosures. There are now a total of 50 animals at Zaranik, including the 9 radio tagged tortoises on the island. There was a drought in North Sinai this year and the natural vegetation is quite poor. The animals in the enclosures are not effected by the drought as the vegetation is regularly watered. The animals are healthy and have gained weight. Two eggs were found in the enclosure and more are expected to have been laid. The radio tracking receiver is still not functioning properly so locating the animals on the island is difficult. After two days and more than seven hours of searching, a female was finally located walking in the open. She was found to be in good health and heavier. It is assumed that the other animals had burrowed under the bushes to escape the heat.

An enclosure was built at a farm in the desert near Cairo owned by Wadi Foods, a leading Egyptian company producing olive products. The TortoiseCare team visited the farm to landscape the tortoise holding facility. 40 Egyptian Tortoise and two Greek Tortoises were released into the enclosure, which still needs more vegetation before it can accommodate additional tortoises.

The Sekem Initiative also agreed to host a tortoise enclosure at their farm near Ismaliya. Sekem is a NGO-company that is a pioneer in the field of organic farming in Egypt. Funds have been provided to them by TortoiseCare to construct the enclosure, which should be finished shortly.

Ms. Koari Odani, the tortoise keeper financed by the Tortoise Trust is doing an excellent job with the animals. Over 300 eggs were laid at the rooftop facility this year. Of these 182 have hatched, with more hatching every day. Due to her diligent care, the adult animals and babies are in excellent condition. Esther and Gian Lorenzo in cooperation with Kaori gave the tortoises shots in an attempt to stamp out the Runny Noise Syndrome, which has persisted since their confiscation over two years ago.

The website constructed with the help of the Tortoise Trust, continues to generate awareness about the species and foster contacts with other concerned organizations and individuals. Many people from Egypt and abroad have contacted us to ask questions about Egyptian Tortoise husbandry and treatment.

The education and promotional materials for TortoiseCare have been produced and distributed. There are T-shirts, stickers, posters, fliers and brochures. Materials have been given to the office of the Minister of State for Environment, Nadia Makram Abeid for distribution as she has a special interest in environmental education and nature conservation. These materials are important tools to help raise awareness about the species and conservation efforts.

A community development program for the Bedouins living near Zaranik was also launched. The women were given supplies to produce traditional handicrafts, embroidery and beadwork in tortoise motifs that will be sold to generate supplementary income for the women. Some lovely hand-made items have been produced and we are optimistic that there will be a demand for these products. The Marketing Link Egyptian Craft Center has volunteered to help us with this program and will sell crafts, and arrange with their cooperatives in North Sinai to produce more goods and train women at Zaranik to improve the quality of their products.

The response to the program has been good and there is heighten awareness nationally and internationally about the plight of species. Still, more efforts are needed to insure a sustainable future for the Egyptian Tortoise, but the first step must be taken before you can run. That step has been made thanks to the calibration and efforts of all participating bodies and individuals. The Development Cooperation Division of the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Cairo though deserves a special note of gratitude for the providing the financial support for this pilot program, without which none of the above achievements would be possible. Special thanks to Mr. Jacob Rooimans, who had been in-charge of project supervision at the Embassy for his constant support and assistance. He returned back to the Netherlands this summer and we wish him the very best in all his endeavors.

Finally, we wish to congratulate our partner, American Community College (CAC) on the hatching of their first baby tortoise. CAC maintains a tortoise population of over 120 Egyptian tortoises both for conservation and education purposes. KIDS WAY TO GO!