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Although Cuora mccordi has been extirpated in the wild,
our captive bred specimens could return to their Ancestors home one day.
Less than 10 Km² of the former Habitat is left for this species.
Once this is gone there will be no future in wild!
Our goals:
Protect the last remaining habitat
and release captive bred offspring in the future.
Cuora mccordi - What do we do?
Our team discovered the former habitat of Cuora mccordi back in 2005, nearly 20 years after its description based on market specimens and many rumours, to learn that the species was functionally extinct already. Less than 50Km² of potential habitat remained back then. Most was already destroyed by intense logging work and reforestration with unsuitable plants like Eucalyptus and Pine trees. This situation has goten worse in the last decade and we estimate that less than 10Km² of pristine habitat might remain. You might ask now - the species is extinct already, so why should we care? Fortunately this species does pretty well in captivity and we and our partners are lucky enough to reproduce them on a yearly basis in increasing numbers. But without a remaining habitat where we can release them one day, all this makes little sense.
Our Team is working in China to get this last potential remaining habitat officially protected. Unfortunately the big NGOs show little to no interest in turtles and as such the process is moving slowly.
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