EASTERN HINGE TORTOISE: POST-RELEASE MONITORING ON MFULENI
Through FreeMe Wildlife’s Tortoise Project, twelve Eastern Hinge Tortoises now call the Mfuleni section of Wild Tomorrow Fund’s Greater Ukuwela Nature Reserve home and are being tracked by our team in intensive post-release monitoring. Read more about tracking these tortoises and how this study can change legislation on future tortoise releases below.
One of the 12 Eastern Hinge Tortoises released last week.
Wild Tomorrow Fund is the proud release site to 12 Eastern Hinge Tortoises released through FreeMe Wildlife’s Tortoise Project. Currently, legislation does not allow for the release of tortoises back into the wild that have been in captivity. This is to protect the wild populations from genetic mixing and to protect wild populations from exposure to pathogens they have no natural immunity to (which could put an entire wild population at risk). Previous releases undertaken with captive tortoises have proven to fail because captive tortoises do not have an innate recognition of natural foods in the wild, are incredibly unfit, and are unable to navigate the dangers they are exposed to in the wild – conditions which almost always lead to their deaths.
With support from Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, FreeMe Wildlife has set out to change the fate of captive tortoises by embarking on an intensive program to ‘re-wild’ these tortoises. Their aim is to put a successful release protocol in place for the release of indigenous tortoises such as these – introducing them to natural foods, encouraging their natural instincts/responses, getting them fit, and putting them through a series of health checks (including monitoring stress levels and testing for pathogens).
The Tortoise Project will be instrumental in changing legislation and policies regarding the release of indigenous tortoises back into the wild in South Africa. Once the 12 tortoises were prepared for release by FreeMe Wildlife, they were then released on the Mfuleni section of Wild Tomorrow Fund’s Greater Ukuwela Nature Reserve. Wild Tomorrow Fund was delighted to sponsor 4 VHF trackers, which have been placed on the largest 4 of the 12 Eastern Hinge Tortoises released, with the batteries lasting about a year. This will allow for one full year of tracking them to see how they cope through the varying seasons, contributing vital information to the study and to the process of rehabilitation.
These 4 tortoises fitted with VHF trackers will be monitored for 12 months to check their progress and potentially identify any areas of concern, which in turn will improve the release protocol.
The trackers were fitted with a waterproof epoxy (photos below), careful to not let it go over the growth edges of the scute. Each tortoise has a marked number for easy reference as well as a transponder which can help identify an individual with a scanner.
The choice of placement of the devices was carefully considered as to not be of any hinderance to the tortoises in the wild. From the front, the device is well hidden and out of the way from catching on or getting tangled in vegetation such as grass, shrubs, and sticks. These trackers were also specifically fitted to not interfere with mating, from both sex’s perspectives.
FreeMe Wildlife’s CEO, Wade Whitehead, assisting with the fitting.
Once fitted, the tortoises were ready for release. Twelve Eastern Hinge Tortoises arrived at our Greater Ukuwela Nature Reserve in Hluhluwe, South Africa on the 24th of November - four with trackers. The Wild Tomorrow Fund team has been partaking in the post-release monitoring on the ground by going out daily to find signal. For the first two weeks, these tortoises will be tracked every day, going down to once a week for the next 2.5 months, and once a month for the next 9 months/remainder of the year.
Greg Canning, Wild Tomorrow Fund South Africa’s General Manager, tracking the tortoises with a VHF tracker.
It is important to remember that this release process will only be deemed a success if a tortoise has survived for one year in the wild. We are optimistic that through FreeMe Wildlife’s care and attention to detail in preparing these tortoises for release, that the odds are in their favour. Follow Wild Tomorrow Fund and FreeMe Wildlife on social media to keep up with these tortoises and The Tortoise Project.
One of the Eastern Hinge Tortoises off into the wild.
Please keep in mind, it is illegal to release any tortoise back into the wild without the necessary permits and health checks in place. FreeMe Wildlife have been working for 5 years on getting protocols in place for the responsible release of tortoises back into the wild and this process has not been finalized yet.