A Siem Reap breeding programme for endangered turtles and tortoises has achieved remarkable success, with 211 hatchlings born so far during the 2025 breeding season.
After years of finetuning, the Angkor Centre for Conservation of Biodiversity (ACCB) is now making a critical contribution towards increasing turtle populations in their natural habitats.
This year’s programme has seen hatchlings from five different species produced, and with the breeding season not over yet, this number is likely to increase.
This is wonderful news for all of them, and a testament to the hard work and dedication of the ACCB team, said an August 18 press release from the ACCB.
“One of ACCB’s primary goals is the captive breeding of endangered turtle and tortoise species, with the aim of releasing the offspring to boost the wild populations,” it added.
It emphasised that breeding turtles and tortoises is not without its challenges, and highlighted how its team have spent many years finetuning the techniques needed to encourage successful breeding and ensure maximum survival of the eggs and hatchlings.
It explained that many species of turtles and tortoises have very specific requirements when it comes to laying their eggs, including specific humidity and rainfall, as well as substrate texture and depth.
Without the correct combination of these things, it noted, females either will not lay, or the eggs will fail. Each species has different requirements, so it takes a lot of precise management to ensure each species is provided with suitable laying conditions each year.
In addition to its conservation work, ACCB delivered a presentation on its work on the “Buddhist Monk Outreach for Turtle Conservation: Bridging Faith and Conservation” initiative, at the 23rd Annual Symposium on the Conservation and Biology of Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles in Chattanooga, the US, last month.
