Manouria emys phayrei
Asian Giant Tortoise

    • Habitat:
      Mountainous evergreen forests
    • Threats:
      - Habitat destruction
      - Collection for local consumption and foreign pet and meat trades
    • Conservation Efforts:
      - Captive breeding and assurance colonies
      - Reintroduction efforts
      - Field Surveys
      - Protected in India, Myanmar, and Thailand
      - CITES Appendix II
    • Wild Population:
      Decreasing
    • Endangered Status:
      Critically Endangered

Fast Facts

This ancient tortoise lineage shares an interesting behavior with many crocodilians. It rakes together a large pile of leaf litter and decomposing plant material on the forest floor. There, the female tortoises lay their eggs. The nest mound protects the eggs and maintains appropriate temperatures for incubation.

Species Snapshot

The Asian Giant Tortoise is the largest tortoise in Asia, growing up to 61 cm (24 in) in shell length and weighing up to 35 kg (77 lbs.). It is considered to be of one of the oldest tortoise lineages in the world. Native to tropical and subtropical hill forests of Bangladesh, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore (extirpated) and Thailand, the Asian Giant Tortoise is considered Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Subsistence and commercial hunting and destruction of primary forest habitat are its principal conservation threats. The tortoise plays an important role in maintaining ecosystem health through seed dispersal.