Science
Poaching of Turtles Skyrockets as Demand for them as Pets Rises
Poaching of turtles, driven by rising demand for pets in the United States, Asia, and Europe, according to wildlife trade experts, is contributing to a worldwide decline of rare freshwater turtles and tortoises.
According to one study, over half of the 360 surviving turtle and tortoise species face extinction.
Such concerns have prompted proposals to strengthen freshwater turtle protection at the International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora meeting in Panama.
Precise figures on the turtle trade, particularly illegal, can be difficult. Tara Easter, a doctoral candidate at the University of Michigan who studies the trade, estimated the commercial export trade for mud turtles in the United States increased from 1,844 in 1999 to nearly 40,000 in 2017 and for musk turtles from 8,254 in 1999 to more than 281,000 in 2016.
The United States and several Latin American countries cited data from Mexico in their CITES proposal to ban or limit commercial trade in more than 20 mud turtle species, finding that nearly 20,000 were confiscated, mostly at the Mexico City airport, between 2010 and 2022.
Freshwater turtles are among the world’s most trafficked animals, targeted by criminal networks connecting with buyers on the internet before transporting them to black markets in Hong Kong and other Asian cities. They are then sold as pets, collectors, commercial breeding, food, and traditional medicine.
The Turtle Trade is poorly regulated.
The lucrative business — some turtle species prized for their colourful shells or unusual appearance can fetch thousands of dollars in Asia.
Poachers are especially dangerous, according to experts, because they target rare turtle species and adult breeding females.
Many turtle species, which can live for decades, do not reach reproductive maturity for at least a decade.
“The loss of large numbers of adults, particularly females, can send turtles into a spiralling decline from which they cannot recover,” said Dave Collins, Turtle Survival Alliance’s director of North American turtle conservation. “Turtles reproduce at an extremely low rate, producing only a few eggs per year.”
The United States Association of Reptile Keepers, which advocates for responsible private ownership and trade in reptiles and amphibians, stated that “limiting captive breeding and legal trade is counterproductive in addressing reductions in wild populations.”
“If there aren’t enough of a species on Earth,… the solution should be to create more of them,” Daniel Parker, the group’s Florida chapter’s director of media, said in a statement. “By cracking down on breeding and trade, authorities are missing out on potentially effective free market conservation solutions.”
Since 2018, the Collaborative to Combat the Illegal Trade in Turtles, a group of mostly state, federal, and tribal biologists dedicated to combating North American turtle poaching, has documented at least 30 major smuggling cases in 15 states. Some involved only a few dozen turtles, while others involved thousands.
Over the last 20 years, Easter at the University of Michigan has identified 59 cases involving approximately 30,000 illegally traded turtles in the United States.
Earlier this year, a federal judge in North Carolina sentenced a man to 18 months in prison and fined him $25,000 for violating the Lacey Act by trafficking turtles. The law prohibits the illegal taking, possessing, transporting, or selling of fish, wildlife, or plants.
Through a middleman, the man trafficked 722 eastern box turtles — North Carolina’s state reptile — as well as 122 spotted turtles and three wood turtles for markets in Asia. The turtles are worth $1.5 million in Asia, and the man received more than $120,000 for them.
After previously pleading guilty to financing a nationwide smuggling ring that sent 1,500 turtles worth more than $2.2 million from the United States to China, a Chinese national was sentenced to 38 months in prison and fined $10,000 for money laundering in 2021.
The man used PayPal to buy the turtles from American buyers, advertised them on social media and reptile websites, and sold them to reptile markets in Hong Kong.
A New Jersey man was sentenced to two years probation and ordered to pay $350,000 in restitution and fines in 2020 for transporting 1,000 three-toed and western box turtles from Oklahoma to New Jersey in candy wrappers and socks.
The illegal trade has prompted governments to propose listing 42 turtle species under CITES for the first time, including North American musk turtles.
Although some species, such as the eastern musk turtle, are common, a listing means that traders will need a permit to sell them internationally.
Commercial sales of other species, such as alligator snapping turtles, which can weigh up to 200 pounds and are found in the Gulf states of the United States, would be restricted.
Proposals would also tighten regulations on 13 others who are already protected.
“We think that’s important because of the trends that we’ve seen over the last couple of decades in international reptile and particularly turtle trade,” said Matthew Strickler of the U.S. Department of the Interior, who will lead the American delegation at CITES.
“There is significant demand from Southeast Asia for food and the pet trade, but there is also demand from Europe for pets,” he said. “We’ve seen a pattern of turtles being depleted in one location, followed by poachers, traffickers, and traders moving to another.” Southeast Asia had been depleted. They relocated to Africa. They are now relocating to the Americas.”
A Rhode Island Environmental Police intern discovered the tiny musk turtles for sale online. They only cost $20 each. The turtles are brown or black with a white or yellow line down the middle of their heads and can live for decades.
In September, police arrested the seller after arranging an undercover purchase at his home. The seller paid a $1,600 fine for illegally possessing a reptile. The turtles, now quarantined at the Providence Zoo, are expected to be healthy and disease-free when released back into the wild.
“When native species are removed even for pets, it has a significant impact,” said Harold Guise, an environmental police detective who handled the case. “Wildlife commercialization impacts wildlife that we can’t measure until it’s too late.” We must get ahead of these issues.”
It reminded Perrotti, the conservation director, that illegal trade, which was previously focused in Asia, is increasingly occurring in his backyard.
“I couldn’t believe there was a market for it and that someone was mass producing or mass collecting these to make a few dollars,” he said. “It’s a $20 turtle.” That is absurd… Wildlife is not a commodity that can be profited from.”
The Associated Press, VOR News
Science
NASA Cuts 2 From Next SpaceX Flight To Make Room For Astronauts Stuck At Space Station
NASA withdrew two astronauts from the next crew on Friday to create room on the return voyage for the two stuck at the International Space Station.
NASA Cuts 2 From Next SpaceX Flight To Make Room For Astronauts Stuck At Space Station
NASA’s Nick Hague and Russian Aleksandr Gorbunov will launch the orbiting laboratory in September using a SpaceX rocket. In February, the duo will reunite with Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore. NASA felt it was too unsafe for Williams and Wilmore to return home in their Boeing Starliner spacecraft, which had propulsion issues and helium leaks.
NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson were bumped from their SpaceX flight. NASA stated that they could fly on future missions.
The space agency considered spaceflight experience and other considerations while choosing.
After the shuttles were retired, the United States relied on Russia to transport crews to the space station until SpaceX began carrying humans in 2020. The two countries continue to exchange seats. Next month, NASA’s Don Pettit will launch to the space station, while NASA’s Tracy Dyson will return to Earth via a Russian capsule.
NASA Cuts 2 From Next SpaceX Flight To Make Room For Astronauts Stuck At Space Station
NASA turned to commercial enterprises a decade ago, seeking two competing US companies to transport humans in the post-shuttle era.
In June, Boeing’s first crew, Williams and Wilmore, arrived at the space station for a planned week-long stay. Their capsule will return empty as early as next Friday, aiming to land in the New Mexico desert.
SOURCE | AP
Science
Scientists Discover Doughnut-Shaped Structure Deep in Earth’s Outer Core
In a groundbreaking study recently published in *Science Advances*, scientists have revealed an astonishing new feature within the Earth’s outer core.
Using seismic waves from large earthquakes, researchers have uncovered a doughnut-like, or torus-shaped, structure buried deep beneath the planet’s surface.
This discovery provides fresh insights into the complex dynamics of Earth’s internal composition.
The research team, led by Professor Hrvoje Tkalcic, a geophysicist from the Australian National University, analyzed seismic waves that travel through Earth’s outer core.
These waves, generated by significant seismic events, offer valuable information about the core’s structure and composition.
Professor Tkalcic explained that the team focused on the slowing down of seismic waves as they passed through a specific area of the outer core near its boundary with the mantle.
“By understanding the paths of those waves and their travel times, we reconstructed their journey through the Earth’s outer core,” Tkalcic said.
The slowdown in wave velocity indicated the presence of a torus-shaped region within the outer core, oriented parallel to the equator. This discovery adds a new layer of complexity to our understanding of Earth’s interior.
New Study Reveals Low-Velocity Torus in Earth’s Outer Core
The study’s authors noted, “Thermochemical inhomogeneities in the outer core that enhance our understanding of the geodynamo have been elusive.
Seismic constraints on such inhomogeneities would provide clues on the amount and distribution of light elements in the core apart from iron and nickel.”
The researchers employed global coda correlation wavefield analysis to present evidence of a low-velocity volume within the outer core.
Their findings indicate that seismic waves travel more slowly in this equatorial torus compared to other regions Through waveform modeling, they determined that this torus has a velocity approximately 2% lower than the surrounding liquid outer core.
The study proposes that this low-velocity structure is likely of thermochemical origin, offering crucial insights into the dynamical processes of the Earth’s outer core.
This discovery represents a significant advancement in our understanding of planet’s internal dynamics and could have far-reaching implications for the study of geodynamics and the geodynamo.
Science
FAA Grounds SpaceX After Rocket Falls Over In Flames At Landing
SpaceX’s launches are on hold after a booster rocket caught fire while landing on Wednesday.
Following the early morning mishap off the Florida coast, the Federal Aviation Administration suspended the company’s Falcon 9 rockets and demanded an investigation. There were no reports of injuries or public damage.
FAA Grounds SpaceX After Rocket Falls Over In Flames At Landing
It’s too early to say how much this may affect SpaceX’s planned crew trips, one private and one for NASA. A billionaire’s chartered flight was delayed only a few hours earlier due to a poor weather forecast.
The rocket launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, delivering all 21 Starlink internet satellites to orbit. However, the first-stage booster exploded in a fireball shortly after landing on an ocean platform, marking the first such disaster in years. This was SpaceX’s 23rd launch of this specific rocket, setting a recycling record.
The FAA stated that before SpaceX can resume Falcon 9 launches, it must accept its accident findings and corrective action. Following the accident, a launch from California with more Starlinks was canceled immediately.
SpaceX’s vice president, Jon Edwards, said the business is working “ASAP” to determine what went wrong.
“The loss of a booster is always heartbreaking. Each of them has its own past and personality. “Fortunately, this does not happen very often,” Edwards wrote on X.
Aside from the private spaceflight awaiting liftoff from Florida’s Kennedy Space Centre, the compnany is scheduled to send two astronauts for NASA late next month. Two seats will be reserved for the two astronauts who launched in June aboard Boeing’s new Starliner capsule and were declared dangerous by NASA for their return.
SOURCE | AP
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