The furrowed Turtle, Senegal

The Katané enclosure’s pond has dried up since mid-January. In preparation for the dry season, the turtles have reduced their mobility.

In January and February, Abou embarked on a tour to the Ferlo with the SOPTOM team and local authorities (National Parks, Water and Forestry departments) searching for wild turtles seen in the early 2000s during the first reintroduction programm. Many burrows were found with the villagers’ help. Some have been abandoned, while others showed recent activity traces. This encouraging news suggests that some of these turtles have been there for 15 years!

We must continue working to preserve the remaining Sulcata turtles in the area, while raising awareness among local communities.

The rain falls have been regular. The usually dry Ferlo landscape has been transformed in a green herbaceous carpet. Furthermore, all the pond basins of the Ferlo are filled with water allowing each turtle to access water and food next to its hole.

Abou had the chance to discover two distinct baby turtles on two following days. They are 3 to 4 years old. These two baby turtles confirm our successful reintroduction of the turtles to the wild life, which we supposed when a month ago we discovered turtles’ eggs. Moreover, the two baby turtles demonstrate their capability to survive in the difficult environment of the Ferlo with numerous predators (jackals, mongoose, birds, etc.).

While we all benefited from a well-deserved vacation, our champions continued their field work. Abdou and the team of "The furrowed Turtle" project monitored the size and weight of the Sulcata Turtles at the beginning of the rainy season. The first rains have filled again with water the dry pond basins of the Ferlo. The Sulcata turtles enjoy the bath in the basins and make their drinking water provisions. The first grass in the dry region of the Ferlo is not only a feast for the eyes but a banquet for the turtles after 6 months of fasting.

We were very happy to discover turtles’ eggs, which is not only an indicator of their successful reintroduction to the wild life but a big encouragement for our conservation strategy of the furrowed turtle in the Ferlo. It’s important to recall, that the furrowed turtle is under threat, while playing an important ecological role in the Ferlo, in the North-east of Senegal. Congratulations to the project team for the passionate work and the results achieved in the protection of our biodiversity!

Dear Ecofund Community, please find below the accounts of donations to the project "The Furrowed Turtle" and its expenditures.

Thanks to your donations, the project team has been able to procure the necessary equipement for the monitoring of turtles, solar lamps, trunks, camera, notebook, solar charger, and GPS.

Many THANKS to all contributors!!!

P.S.: The balance of 269 euros will be transfered to the project "Turtle Game", which our champions have already prepared. Stay tuned to our Ecoblog ...

News from turtles monitoring thanks to new equipment (photo, notebook, solar charger etc.) financed by the Ecofund community.

This month there is a change in the program, Anneline Grenouilloux, volunteering scientist who assisted our champion Abu for almost 2 years will soon go back home. Now Abu can count on Anne Emanuelle Landes, French volunteering scientist, for the next two years to continue the program.

Otherwise peaceful, during the time of reproduction the rivalries emerge now between the males engaging in violent combats with two results: either one of the males flee or it ends up on its back.

Our intervention within this time is very scarce but vital. We turn systematically all the males around that find themselves on their backs. This position could be fatale to them: The shell of the male is flatter than the females and turning around by them is sometimes a challenge. Their lungs are squeezed and they can die of asphyxiation or dehydration (as the turtles find themselves exposed to the strong heat during the daytime).

Our team had the pleasure to again find new babies! It’s a proof that the reintroduced turtles have perfectly adapted to their new home and natural habitat.

Our team had the pleasure to again find new babies! It’s a proof that the reintroduced turtles have perfectly adapted to their new home and natural habitat.

This month there is a change in the program, Anneline Grenouilloux, volunteering scientist who assisted our champion Abu for almost 2 years will soon go back home. Now Abu can count on Anne Emanuelle Landes, French volunteering scientist, for the next two years to continue the program.

The tracking of the furrowed turtle continues… 

With the rain returning in September the turtles and the other animals of the Ferlo take advantage of the new sprouts.

They prepare themselves for the dry season; eating is one of their main activities. The fat reserves they take on during the rainy season have a vital importance during the dry season. Little by little, the sulcata turtle will be reducing  its activities until February and then remain underground in its burrow waiting for the next rainy season. She doesn’t eat or drink for about 6 month.

The tracking of the furrowed turtle continues…
With the rain returning in September the turtles and the other animals of the Ferlo take advantage of the new sprouts.
They prepare themselves for the dry season; eating is one of their main activities. The fat reserves they take on during the rainy season have a vital importance during the dry season. Little by little, the sulcata turtle will be reducing  its activities until February and then remain underground in its burrow waiting for the next rainy season. She doesn’t eat or drink for about 6 month.

Thanks to the ONOMO Airport Hotel in Dakar and 4 individual donors from Senegal and Germany, the SOS Sulcata-Team is now able to purchase basic work equipment. The equipment will be used for daily observation of the habits and to monitor the general wellbeing of the turtles, which were reintroduced to their natural habitat of the Ferlo.

Furthermore, the donation will finance nature excursions for Ranérou’s school children to the Ferlo natural reserve and so help create awareness among the young generation about the protection of the biodiversity. A few years from now, they will be the ones to make important decisions for their region and its conservation will be based on the knowledge they have acquired.

The reintroduction and the monitoring of turtles in the Ferlo combined with the nature excursions will help to prevent the total disappearance of the Sulcata turtle in Senegal.

Once again a big THANK YOU to ONOMO Airport Hotel, its guests and to the individual donors from Germany and Senegal!

Our future is green!

In this second edition of the turtles’ newsletter (in French), you will find updates on the SOS Sulcata program as well as articles written by pupils of the Ranérou school on the environmental issues related to the Ferlo natural reserve.

Click on the picture. Enjoy reading and improve your French!

We have encountered the Commandant Gomis and his Team as well as Anneline. After the end of the week and of his and Abdou’s company, we can report on the excellent work they are doing in Ferlo on every single angle.

During my third stay over there I found that the Basecamp of Ranerou resists well against weathering and you can tell that there are improvements done every year. We have mostly seen some turtles in their den (not many discovered) and then after having searched by car, we were able to find another Turtle of those last released.
We could see some changes in Katane; with the arrival of a new teacher one class was completely rehabilitated, and a new health centre 200m was built. We also had time to visit the new extension area of the natural reserve, now 1.200ha. shouldn’t be too big for the Oryx, antelopes and Turtles. We will hopefully be able to see how their number will increase through a natural way.
Regarding the turtles from Madia and their possible reintroduction in Noflaye, after a discussion with Anneline, we have decided to drop it until a further visit and until we have received a feedback on their status. The Quarantine area at the turtle village, which should have been used by them is at the moment occupied by other turtles hat have been received last October.

We have encountered the Commandant Gomis and his Team as well as Anneline. After the end of the week and of his and Abdou’s company, we can report on the excellent work they are doing in Ferlo on every single angle.

During my third stay over there I found that the Basecamp of Ranerou resists well against weathering and you can tell that there are improvements done every year. We have mostly seen some turtles in their den (not many discovered) and then after having searched by car, we were able to find another Turtle of those last released.
We could see some changes in Katane; with the arrival of a new teacher one class was completely rehabilitated, and a new health centre 200m was built. We also had time to visit the new extension area of the natural reserve, now 1.200ha. shouldn’t be too big for the Oryx, antelopes and Turtles. We will hopefully be able to see how their number will increase through a natural way.
Regarding the turtles from Madia and their possible reintroduction in Noflaye, after a discussion with Anneline, we have decided to drop it until a further visit and until we have received a feedback on their status. The Quarantine area at the turtle village, which should have been used by them is at the moment occupied by other turtles hat have been received last October.

The Ferlo, in the North-east of Senegal, is the region where the furrowed turtle (Centrochelys sulcata) can still be found in its savage state. The turtle plays an important ecological role in this difficult and harsh region: for example, it digs huge holes to seek shade, coolness and humidity in order to withstand the scorching heat (of up to 48°C under the shade) and to compensate for water shortage during 6 to 8 months of dry season. All the other wildlife, from the butterfly to the jackal then uses these abandoned holes as cover during the hottest periods of the day.

The furrowed turtle is also responsible for the dispersal of many grains. As a very opportunistic herbivore, it eats many varieties of vegetables and rejects, through its faeces, undigested grains which then grow close to the main plant.

But the furrowed turtle is under threat. Its populations are limited and vastly spaced out one from the other thereby eliminating the opportunity of meeting and reproducing the specie. In addition, constant negative impact of human activities on the Sahel worsens the fragile situation of these turtles: desertification, overgrazing, destruction of its habitat and gathering for the illegal sale of exotic animals.

Our three new champions aim to preserve the Senegalese furrowed turtle through scientific reintroduction program but also through school excursions to their natural habitat.

Help Lamine, Beidi and Henri to maintain the Sahel’s biodiversity!