Burmese Star Tortoise

The Burmese Star Tortoise (Geochelone platynota) is becoming extinct in its native Myanmar (Burma). It lives in the dry, deciduous forest, and is eaten both by the native Burmese, and is traded to the Chinese, where it is sometimes found in the food markets. It is on CITES Appendix II, meaning a permit from the country of export is required. Reportedly, Myanmar has never granted a export permit, meaning most captive bred are orginally from illegal tortoises, or imports grandfathered in prior to the CITES listing.

This tortoise can easily be distinguished from the more common Indian Star Tortoise by comparing the plastrons of the two species. It is considered critically endangered by the IUCN's Redlist (see www.redlist.org). One recent expedition searched for the Burmese star for 400 hours, and only found 5 tortoises. This was with specially trained dogs and 5 volunteers.