An endangered terrain community subsisting in rock pools needs urgen

[folablaze]

folablaze

January 11, 2011 at 6:13 pm #22913

I need your help please. I need advice. In may 2003, I discovered a community of terrapin turtles subsisting in a gnamma (water hole on rocks) on a granite inselberg somewhere in a town in Nigeria where I reside. Since then I have been in constant touch with their habitat, monitoring and observing their habitat as well as their behavioural adaptations to the harsh environment. Those animals are so awesome i must say. I built a website on my discoveries about them then (www.naturesexpression.netfirms.com), I kept writing in national dailies to the government to do something about the place because human encroachment was seriously endangering their habitat yet nothing had been done till date. Now, I formally launched an Ngo last month because of this turtles and other endangered natural resources in the country. You can check the website (www.naijatreks.com). Now this is 7years since i have been monitoring these habitat and i must tell you, THEY ARE HIGHLY ENDANGERED…global warming is not even helping matters as dry season is prolonged with excess heat and the animals are forced to brumate(hibernate) for unusually long period of time…now, i have resumed correspondence with the state government on the possibility of speedily claiming the area and fencing it off from further human encroachment, but pending the time this will push through which is quite uncertain for now, I am thinking of an emergency rescue as a back up plan. I am thinking of moving some of the turtles out of the habitat to a conservation center in another state. i had once wanted to do this some years ago and the consevation center was ready to create space for the turtles, but someone adviced me against it that i will be destroying their habitat if I do that…that they may survive in the new habitat of the conservation center but they may not be able to reproduce there. That was what discouraged me then, but looking at the present state of threat on the habitat I am seriously considering the venture and I have resumed correspondence with the conservation center, but i really need expert advice on this before i make the move. Kindly post your replies asap. Thanks

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