Tanzanian college in drive to save pancake tortoise

A northern Tanzanian college has embarked on a project aimed at rescuing pancake tortoise, which are at the peril of extinction due to increasing human activities.

The pancake tortoise is a flat-shelled tortoise native to Tanzania and Kenya.

Located on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro, College of African Wildlife Management (CAWM) is working on the project, which is geared to protect the tortoises from extinction by involving villagers in northern Tanzania's Babati District.

Wildlife and tourism experts, Edward Msiani and Richard Kasasembe from the college, lead the team of experts who are in the project site educating local communities on how to protect the tortoises.

The awareness campaign is also meant to make people aware on how they can benefit from tourism because of the presence of pancake tortoises in the area.

"This project is an endeavor to save these creatures which are under the greatest threats due to habitat destruction and its over-exploitation by the pet trade," said Msiani.

According to experts, increasing human activities in the area like quarry mining, and large number of livestock in the area, put the creature's hard time to survive.

"Given the low reproductive rate of this tortoise, populations that have been harvested may take a long time to recover. Commercial development diminishes the amount of suitable habitat for pancake tortoises, which already is neither common nor extensive," Msiani said.

The tortoise is classified as vulnerable on the world conservation body, International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List.

In Tanzania, it is protected within the Serengeti National Park.

"Chances for these creatures to survive without putting measures in place are minimal; that's why we have camped in the area to save them," Kasasembe said. Enditem