Couples find love in the water

4 February 2010

Zoo keepers at Chester Zoo have spotted romance blossoming between two Chinese three-striped box turtles (Cuora trifasciata), just in time for Valentine’s Day.

This species is relatively anti-social and the adults are kept alone throughout the year, only being introduced for rare ‘dates’ once or twice a year.  Richard Gibson, Curator of Lower Vertebrates and Invertebrates at Chester Zoo, said: “receptive female turtles will often quickly succumb to the male’s signals but in some cases will bite him until he relents, so there is never any guarantee that things will go well.  Most turtle and tortoise species are increasingly threatened in the wild and these Critically Endangered box turtles are rapidly nearing extinction. For these and many other species their best hope of survival in the short-term lies in zoo and aquarium conservation breeding programmes.’’

The Chinese three-striped box turtle is at serious risk owing to insatiable demand for its use in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), under the false belief that its bone harbours a cure for cancer. More than 10 million turtles and tortoises are eaten and used in TCM each year in south east Asia.

 

Photo caption: The two Chinese three-striped box turtles earlier this week at Chester Zoo