10,000 endangered tortoises rescued in Madagascar 

10,000 endangered tortoises rescued in Madagascar

Context

International conservationists in Madagascar have been treating more than 10,000 critically endangered radiated tortoises that were seized from traffickers who had crammed them into a home with no access to food or water

Prelim relevant info

Radiated Tortoise

A critically endangered (CR) tortoise, radiated tortoises sport star patterns on their shells and live in the forests and scrubland of Madagascar

Critically Endangered

This category is one of many as defined by IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature)

• It is the highest risk category assigned by the IUCN for wild species. Critically endangered species means a species numbers have decreased, or will decrease by 80% within three generations. It is therefore considered to be facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild