Responsible product – Myanmar Star Tortoise

Myanmar Product team is developing a one day experience, that can be linked to an existing overland tour ! This new responsible experience will include a visit to a tortoise center, located inside Minsontaung Wildlife Sanctuary in Natogyi Township, Myingyan District, Mandalay Division.

Myanmar’s star tortoise is classified as a highly endangered species by the IUCN and can be found only in Myanmar. Although this tortoise is now thought to be ‘ecologically’ extinct in the wild, with the technical support of WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) and TSA (Turtle Survival Alliance) towards captive breeding efforts a remarkable increase in numbers has resulted, and as of  November2017, there are 2,815 star tortoises!

This experience will  bring travelers to the forest area where a rehabilitation program has been set up. The direct contribution from our tours will be directly donated to the tortoise center. The donation will be used for the center, helping it to hire guards to safeguard the tortoises from illegal poaching for food, medicine and pet markets, and to protect the breeding area from habitat destruction.

We are very excited about supporting this Tortoise Center through tourism because the actual budget attributed by the government is not sufficient to keep the center running smoothly and they need a regular income stream to protect more of this endangered species.
From an educational point of view, visitors will have a chance to take part in a guided forest walk to observe natural breeding, acquire general knowledge on wild species and ultimately, reintroduce this extinct species to the community.

For more information on the tortoise:
https://www.reptilesmagazine.com/The-Burmese-Star-Tortoise/
https://myanmar.wcs.org/Wildlife/Turtle-and-Tortoise.aspx