do you know?

Thought Questions:

divider

Considering that tortoises have very low reproductive rates and that populations of tortoises in Madagascar are rapidly declining, what effect do you think continued poaching will have on the wild populations of tortoises and on the people of Madagascar?
Many Malagasy reptiles are not easy to breed outside of their natural habitat. The government might set up centers where people can breed the reptiles, then sell them abroad to earn money. How could an exporter consumer know whether the animals in front of you were really ‘captive bred' or taken from the wild? Could genetics help?
Madagascar has prohibited the export of all tortoises from the country, and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) prohibits international trade in these species. Why do you think they are still being poached and illegally exported? What drives this trade?

Think Tortoises Are Cheap In Madagascar? What About Geckos?

divider

A Malagasy villager will only receive 1-3 cents for a gecko which will sell in a pet store for $75-90. If you were a Malagasy villager, to earn just one US dollar, you might have to capture as many as 100 geckos from the wild!. You can imagine what a negative impact this has on local species. How do you think the Malagasy government is dealing with this problem?

Friend of Fish, Dr. Paul Loiselle

divider

Paul Loiselle is passionate about fishes. He has taken numerous trips to Madagascar, and worked to help conserve fishes in the wild. He has discovered and described many new species, and breeds several that have become extinct in the wild since he first collected them.

Imagine you are an inspector from the US Fish and Wildlife Service. You have been assigned to a team that works on the international trade in Radiated Tortoises. Before you can get out on the street to try to stop illegal trade, you need to familiarize yourself with the trade. These are some of the things you need to know in order to tackle this problem. Who profits the most? What percentage of the tortoises die in transit? How many tortoises does a Malagasy villager have to catch to make a living? Is this amount a reasonable harvest for the tortoise populations?

Scroll over the points and arrows on the map below to follow the path of a Radiated Tortoise from its natural habitat in Southern Madagascar to an internet ad you found from a seller in Louisiana. Gather all the important information from the map. Pay close attention to the price at which each person sells the tortoise, and also the % of tortoises that die in transit from one person to the next. You can keep track of the numbers in the chart in your student guide or you can download an excel chart to help you keep track.

To solve the word problems below, select the correct numbers and operations to put in the equation. The solution to the equation will appear when you fill in the equation. If your answer is incorrect, try again! [A drop down menu at each spot in the equation will hold the possible values or operations. If the equation yields the wrong value, the computer will tell them so.]

Questions: 1. What percent of tortoises that are caught in Madagascar survive to be sold on the internet in the US? If 10% of tortoises die in between Ambovombe and Toliara, how many survive? If 50% of the surviving tortoises die between Toliara and Johannesburg, how many survive? And between Johannesburg and Frankfurt? Between Frankfurt and Jacksonville? Between Jacksonville and Louisiana? .90 .10 .50 .35 .65 x ÷ + - ____ __ ____ __ ____ __ ____ __ ____ = ____ <.9 x .5 x .65 x .65 x .9=17.1%> 2. How many tortoises have to be caught in Madagascar to get one tortoise to the pet store shelf? 1 .171 x ÷ + - ____ __ ____ = ____ <1 ÷ 17.1 = 5.84 or Approximately 6> 3. How much money does each party make for every 100 tortoises that are caught in Madagascar? Remember some of them die in transit. ß Malagasy Villager $2 100 x ÷ + - ____ __ ____ = $____ <2 x 100=$200> ß Herilala Inc. .9 100 x ÷ + - ____ __ ____ = ____ surviving tortoises <.9 x 100=90> $2 $15 100 90 x ÷ + - ____ __ ____ __ ____ __ ____ = $____ <15 x 90- 2 x 100 =$1150> ß South African Transporters .5 90 x ÷ + - ____ __ ____ = ____ surviving tortoises <.5 x 90=45> $250 $15 45 90 x ÷ + - ____ __ ____ __ ____ __ ____ = $____ < $250 x 45 - $15 x 90 =$9900> ß Gesundheit Exports .65 .35 45 x ÷ + - ____ __ ____ = ____ surviving tortoises <45 x .65 = 29> $750 $250 29 45 x ÷ + - ____ __ ____ __ ____ __ ____ = $____ <$750 x 29 - $250 x 45 =$10,500> ß ABC Imports .65 .35 29 x ÷ + - ____ __ ____ = ____ surviving tortoises <.65 x 29=19> $1750 $750 19 29 x ÷ + - ____ __ ____ __ ____ __ ____ =$ ____ <1750 x 19 - 750 x 29 =$11,500> ß Reptiles ‘R Us .9 .10 19 x ÷ + - ____ __ ____ = ____ surviving tortoises <.9 x 19=17> $3000 $1750 17 19 x ÷ + - ____ __ ____ __ ____ __ ____ = $____ <3000 x 17 - 1750 x 19 =$17,750> 4. Who profits the most? 5. How many tortoises does a villager have to catch each year to make a good living if a good living is $3000 a year? $2 3000 x ÷ + - ____ __ ____ = ____ tortoises <3000 ÷ 2 = 1500>

Tracking the Tortoise Trade