Demand for unique Irian Jaya tortoise puts it in peril

Demand for unique Irian Jaya tortoise puts it in peril

By Bayu Dwi Mardana Kusuma

JAKARTA (JP): Irian Jaya is often called Indonesia's biggest
herpetology laboratory. A recent study shows that some 253
species of reptiles have been documented in the province: 89
types of snakes, 150 lizards, two kinds of crocodiles, six
species of turtles and six tortoises.

Many of Irian Jaya's rare and unique-looking reptiles are only
found on its southernmost tip. Yet it is the pignose tortoise
(caretochelys insclupta) that attracts the attention of many
biologists, because its next of kin is only found in the form of
fossils.

Even the layman can readily tell the difference between the
pignose tortoise, which is most at home along riverbanks and in
swamps, and other members of the tortoise family. Its nose,
resembling the snout of a pig, nestles on the tip of its
relatively big but short black trunk.

Female pignose tortoises, characterized by oar-shaped front
legs with two nails like those of a turtle, come out of water
only when they are about to lay eggs. The pignose tortoise is
omnivorous, devouring anything edible such as fish, fruits, roots
and seeds inclusive of leaves of aquatic plants. They swim
exactly like turtles, paddling their front and rear legs in
unison. Other physical features encompass a spinal cord with a
maximum length of about 61 cm, covered with a soft skin layer and
spots.

It is their unique appearance which is bringing the pignose
tortoise to the brink of extinction, because they are hunted as
pets and to be stuffed as ornaments.

"That's it, it's the nose that is like that of a pig that
makes it unique, that's why collectors are crazy for them," said
a pet seller in Barito, South Jakarta.

Pignose tortoises were formerly found solely in the southern
part of Irian Jaya, but they have also been documented around
Carpentaria in northern Australia and Papua New Guinea, where
they were first spotted in 1970. It is believed the latter were
escaped tortoises; they have also been seen at Argumi Bay, Danau
Jamur, Timika, Agats, Kimaan, Asiki and Kali Digul.

Smuggling stems from these places, with the reptiles being
transported to Merauke before being sent on to big cities like
Jakarta and Makassar.

One does not have to go all the way to Merauke or to the
hinterland of Irian Jaya to have a good view of the bizarre-
looking beast. They are scattered in several pet shops and malls
in Jakarta and offered at various prices. A small young tortoise
can fetch Rp 150,000 while a middle-sized one with a spinal bone
of 20 to 30 cm long is pegged at Rp 800,000.

A senior species conservation officer at the World Wide Fund
(WWF) for Nature Indonesia, John A. Maturbongs, said: "From our
observations of various pet and bird shops in Jakarta from June
2000 to March 2001, there were some 250 illegal transactions of
pignose tortoises."

A pet exporter contacted in Jakarta in March revealed that he
had thousands of pignose tortoises in stock. He planned to export
them to Singapore. In addition, people in Hong Kong are reported
to be fond of consuming the tortoise's meat for health purposes.

Protected

The short-necked tortoise is on the list of endangered species
protected by law under a 1978 agriculture ministry decree, but
the measure seems to have done little good.

For instance, in May 2000 public prosecutors and forestry
officers found some 5,000 young pignose tortoises in one of the
river ports near Merauke. It was believed the tortoises were
about to be sent to Timika and later to Surabaya's pet and bird
shops.

"The local poachers get very little for their catch from local
traders, mostly in the form of staple foods: noodles, sugar,
cigarettes and other daily amenities," said Benja V. Mambay, a
project officer at Lorentz Nasional Conservation, WWF Indonesia.

"They need food more than money and they feel contented with
their way of life collecting things of value from the forest."

The local people are ignorant of the fact the tortoise is
protected. "It's the traders who know that what they are doing is
against the law, but who doesn't need money?"

The exact number of pignose tortoises in the wild is not known
to date, but years of rampant poaching and illegal smuggling have
decimated the population.

"Just imagine that it takes at least 10 years for the reptile
to reach reproductive age. And each adult female normally
produces approximately 17 to 35 eggs 33 to 45 mm in size and only
about 10 percent of these will survive," Mambay said.

Locals also hunt the tortoises for their meat. Grilled, the
meat is served as a side dish to the traditional staple food of
sago. But WWF Indonesia's investigation shows that traders
collect many more tortoises than the locals kill for food.

An estimated 168,000 eggs were collected by seven groups of
traders from August to September 1999. Maturbongs said: "With at
least six speedboats and 23 longboats they are able to operate
very fast along the Vreischap River in Merauke."

This river has been a favorite spot for the traders to collect
eggs and young tortoises; other locations are Kimaan island and
Asiki.

Reaction

The Ministry of Forestry often conducts "random" inspections
of markets like Barito and Pasar Burung Pramuka in a bid to crack
down on the trade in endangered animals. But such measures are
seen by many as a formality rather than as an act of law
enforcement.

Dr. Djoko T. Iskandar of the Bandung Institute of Technology
said the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and
Natural Resources and the Convention on the International Trade
in Endangered Species (CITES) were concerned by recent
developments in the illegal trade of the pignose tortoise and the
vulnerability of the species.

Indonesia ratified CITES through Presidential Decree No.
43/1978 regarding the worldwide trade of flora and fauna. During
the 11th conference of the CITES held in Gigiri, Kenya, in 2000,
all member countries adopted a resolution on the conservation of
freshwater tortoises.

Nevertheless the trade in the tortoises goes on, and no raids
have been reported on pet shops in malls in Jakarta and other
major cities. Pet shop owners apparently feel there is no danger
in putting the tortoises and other endangered species up for
sale. For them, like the traders in Irian Jaya, it is all about
money, but one day they may find their pockets empty when the
pignose tortoise disappears from the wild.