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Peyton Creadick
BellaOnline's Reptiles and Amphibians Editor



Australia's Most Endangered Reptile

The Western Swamp tortoise, also known as the Short-necked Tortoise, is Australia’s most endangered reptile. Though discovered in 1839 when a single tortoise was found and sent to a museum in Vienna, Austria, this tortoise was not seen again for more than 100 years.

It was essentially thought to be extinct until 1953 when the story goes that a boy found one crossing the road and took it with him to a wildlife show where a conservationist, who didn’t recognize the species, decided to do some research. Low and behold, a species presumed extinct comes alive again!

The Western Swamp Tortoise habitat consists of swamps that are filled only in winter and spring. When the water is present, the tortoises swim and feed on small aquatic invertebrates. When the water is gone, the tortoises aestivate in holes or under deep piles of leaf litter.

Today, this tortoise is only found in two places in Australia on the Swan Coastal Plain within Perth. These areas are now designated as nature reserves after having been purchased by the government (thanks to public appeal). They are now called the Twin Swamps and Ellen Brooke Nature Reserves.

This tortoise is truly special, because it's the last of its genus (dating back 15-20 million years) and the most primitive of its family. Unfortunately, numbers dropped from approximately 200 in the 60's to a mere 30 in the 1980's. Thanks to captive breeding efforts by the Perth Zoo, however, 370 tortoises have been reared and released into the wild.

Trying to re-establish such a small population does bring with it some inbreeding risks, in addition to the lack of sufficient habitat available to maintain a large wild population.

The success of captive breeding does bode well for the rare tortoise whose already narrow distribution has suffered significantly thanks to habitat destruction for agricultural uses.

Predation by the red fox has also had a negative impact in addition to its poor reproductive potential. In terms of rebounding in the wild, it must overcome not only its own breeding habits and predation by red foxes, but also predation by feral cats and dogs.

Unfortunately, because it reproduces slowly, its ability to rebound from destruction (both habitat and predatory) is limited. They take approximately 10-15 years to reach reproductive age. Thanks to captive breeding, this tortoise has at least a chance of survival. Extinction is not written in stone, yet!

What can you do? If you’re in Australia, report any sightings of this tortoise, conserve water, and avoid fertilizers as they can wash into rivers and swamps. Whether you’re in Australia or not, if you care about the survival of threatened species, become involved in your area. Your local herpetological society should be able to point you in the right direction!

The more people who are involved, the more species we may be able to save.