In the first week of June 2012, after days of heavy rain at the Turtle Conservation Centre (TCC) in the Cuc Phuong National Park, the first clutches of Vietnamese pond turtle (Mauremys annamensis) eggs were found in one of the adult enclosures. When Hoang Van Thai, manager of the TCC, checked the enclosures late at night he found signs of freshly buried eggs. On closer inspection he recovered three clutches totaling 15 eggs.
As with many reptile species, the sex of the hatchlings that develop in the eggs will depend on the temperature at which they are incubated. For this reason, 50% of the Mauremys eggs will be incubated insitu, buried in one of the adult enclosures at the TCC. This method has proved successful at the TCC for a number of years but has largely produced males. The remaining eggs will be incubated in the incubation room at the centre where temperatures around 30°C will hopefully result in female Vietnamese pond turtles. The ability to hatch a balanced group of males and females will be important for the long-term management of Mauremys annamensis for conservation in Vietnam.
The TCC would like to thank the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA) and the Intrepid Foundation for supporting the TCC and its conservation projects in 2012.
Press release by Sarah Wahl (TCC)
15th June 2012
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