Half of World’s Turtles In Danger of Extinction, Report Says

A new report says turtles and tortoises are the most threatened vertebrate animals on the planet, with more than half of their 328 species threatened with extinction. Seventeen of the 25 most threatened species are from Asia, where overhunting for food and a lucrative black market trade in turtles for pets has caused populations to plummet, according to the report, produced by a coalition of wildlife groups. The most threatened species is the Pinta Island Tortoise, one of the Galapagos tortoises made famous by Charles Darwin’s research on natural selection. The next most threatened turtle is the Red River Giant Softshell, an animal found in China and Vietnam that can weigh more than 250 pounds with a shell more than three feet long. Other factors threatening turtles worldwide include loss of habit and pollution. “Without concerted conservation action, many of the world’s turtles and tortoises will become extinct within the next few decades,” the report says.