At a Glance
The Palawan Forest Turtle is elusive, so elusive that scientists were unsure of where the species lived in the wild until 2004 when a population was rediscovered on the Palawan Islands in the Philippines. It lives in swampy forests and lives in slow-flowing, muddy streams, creeks and rivers.
Palawan Forest Turtles thrive and have the most breeding success in pristine forest. Females usually lay clutches of one to two eggs that they cover up with leaf litter. Males are territorial and will fight off other males that enter their territories.
The biggest threat to Palawan Forest Turtles is the illegal wildlife trade. The turtles are sometimes trafficked by the thousands. In 2015 alone, 4,700 turtles were confiscated from illegal wildlife traffickers. In addition to the illegal wildlife trade, the forests where the turtles live are being turned into rice fields, illegally logged for timber, mined, quarried and used to make charcoal.
At a glance
Taxa
Reptiles
Geography
Philippines
Status
Critically Endangered
Habitat
Freshwater rivers and streams, wetlands
Estimated Population
Unknown
Threats
Logging, agricultural expansion, mining, collection for trade
Potential Recovery Actions
Habitat protection, enforcement of wildlife trade regulations, monitoring and research
