The Field Work

Skiing For Turtles is a fundraiser to raise funds for the Turtle Survival Alliance, and for conservation and research on the Javanese Narrow-headed Softshell Turtle (Chitra chitra javanensis).

The Narrow-headed Softshell Turtle is critically endangered in all parts of its range, including on Sumatra, largely due to overharvesting by humans along with habitat destruction. There is little to nothing known about the abundance and natural history of C. chitra left in the wild, other than it is extremely rare. A unique animal, this turtle burrows in the sand, and eats mostly fish, reportedly preferring large rivers with sandy substrates and clear water. Empirical evidence on abundance and habitat use have yet to be documented- that is where we come in.

I will be working with two Indonesian biologists, Dr. Mirza Kusrini, and Lubis Irfansyah, to capture, tag, release, and gather habitat data on C. chitra, and other species of freshwater turtles on Sumatra. We will be using deepwater turtle traps custom-built by Daryl Lescanec and myself, and baited with fresh fish, prawns, or meat. All turtles will be released at the site of capture after the data (i.e. species, measurements, sex, tag, GPS location) is recorded.

This is the first time ever an extensive survey for the Narrow-headed Softshell Turtle in the wild has been conducted.

Photo Credit: Carl Franklin