"SUMMIT COUNTY —In an age when global biodiversity is collapsing at an astounding rate, it’s good to celebrate small conservation victories, like last week’s release of a rare southern river terrapin to the Sre Ambel River in Cambodia.
Working with government agencies in the region, the Wildlife Conservation Society last week said biologists released one of the most endangered turtles on earth into the wild in an area where the reptiles may be able to re-establish a stronghold.
The female turtle weighs about 75 pounds and has been equipped with a satellite transmitter that will allow conservationists to track its whereabouts – the first-ever satellite monitoring study for this species.
The turtle was captured in the Sre Ambel River by local fishermen in April, 2011. It’s one of only about 200 adults remaining in the wilds of Cambodia, Malaysia, and Indonesia. It was voluntarily turned it over to the WCS Cambodia turtle team instead of being sold into the black market trade, where it would have been sent to food markets in China.
The population in the Sre Ambel River is estimated at less than ten nesting females. Thus, this individual is extremely important for maintaining genetic diversity of this species that has already suffered drastic population declines...."
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