BOURRET’S BOX

The Bourret’s box turtle was elevated to a full species status only in 2004. It has been recorded only from Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Thua Thien-Hue, Da Nang, Quang Nam and Kon Tum provinces in central Viet Nam, and from Savannakhet province in Laos. Historically found in upland, moist, closed-canopy evergreen forest, this species is ground-living and not associated with forest streams and other waterbodies. Although extensive surveys have been done to try and learn about the habitat and range of the Bourett’s and the southern Viet Nam box turtle, there is still much unknown about the species’ ecology and population size.

The Bourret’s box turtle is another victim of the “Asian turtle crisis”, when extensive turtle trade swept through the region, spiking in the 1990s. For instance, TRAFFIC’s surveys1 of turtle markets in the Mekong delta region of Viet Nam in the early 1990s found the Cuora box turtles to be the most common among the pond turtles for sale. Much like the Annamite pond turtle, the Bourret’s box turtle is hunted for the lucrative trade in meat and medicine, and for trade as “pets” and breeding stock for turtle farms. This trade has led to a population collapse of over 90% in the last few decades, with the volume in trade dropping precipitously, reflecting its increased rarity in the wild. The massive legal international trade reduced in the 2000s when the species was added to the CITES appendix for trade regulation, but unfortunately populations had already declined steeply. Illegal trafficking continues, particularly from Viet Nam to China.

Field surveys conducted in the 1990s in Laos had encounter rates of about one turtle every three months, and interviews with hunters from Quang Nam province found that they went from being able to catch 20 Bourret’s box turtles in a day in the mid-1990s to only a few turtles a week by 2006. Much like the Annamite pond turtle, most of the Bourret’s box turtles end up in China, either for traditional medicine and meat, or as pets; the current going rate for a box turtle in China is US$150, compared to US$20 in 2005.

In recent years, several Bourret’s box turtles and other turtles from threatened species, rescued from the wildlife trade and rehabilitated in the Turtle Conservation Centre in Cuc Phuong National Park, were released in suitable protected sites in their native ranges. Some Bourret’s box turtles were also released into WWF-supported protected areas in the Central Annamites, where WWF contributes to post-release protection and monitoring.