TORTOISE
WORLD'S MOST ENDANGERED
The angonoka tortoise, also known as the ploughshare tortoise, is a critically endangered species that is endemic to Madagascar and can only be found in the 60 square kilometres around Baly Bay.
As one of the rarest land tortoises in the world, they are at high risk of extinction as the females only start laying eggs after they reach 15 to 20 years of age. The current population is estimated at 600. They are at the mercy of poachers who are keen to take advantage of the high prices private collectors in China and south-east Asia are willing to pay to have such a highly valued and rare creature. The ploughshare is now listed on Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendix I, which bans all international commercial trade in the species.