Forty-three North American Wood Turtles (Glyptemys insculpta), rehabilitated at the KFBG Wild Animal Rescue Centre, arrived safely in their native country on 20^th December 2017.

In 2014 and 2015, Hong Kong customs intercepted shipments of endangered freshwater turtles which included North American Wood Turtles. The media reported that the entire 2015 shipment from US, which included 26 North American Wood Turtles and 69 other species, was worth HK$95,000. KFBG estimates their value would be considerably higher (over HK$500,000) on the black market.

The KFBG rescue team cared for the turtles for over two years before an agreement was reached with a research team for placement in the US. The turtles are now settling into their new home at the University of Georgia’s Savannah River Ecology Laboratory where they will hopefully produce young that will be considered for release into the wild in the future, thereby reducing the chance of a looming extinction of the wild populations.

There is concern about releasing the repatriated adult turtles due to the danger of accidentally spreading unknown pathogens that may have been picked up along the smuggling route and that cannot be detected by normal wildlife health screening. Any young turtles hatched will never have moved outside of their home range so are free of this risk, making them suitable to consider for wild release.

North American Wood Turtles live in rivers and associated forests and marshes. They are omnivorous feeding on vegetation, fallen fruits, mushrooms, earthworms and small insects. They are endangered because they are losing their habitat, being poached for the illegal pet trade, and in some areas even being over-hunted by the large populations of raccoons (the raccoon populations are unnaturally large as a result of scavenging around human developments).


The wood turtles get ready for their flight home.


The KFBG Wild Animal Rescue Centre team packs each wood turtle into a bag then places them into two customized wooden crates for their maximum safety and comfort.

Turtles are more important in the ecosystem than many people may realize. Some studies estimate that, globally, turtles may make up more of the total ecosystem biomass than that of mammals. As such, their activities of feeding, defecating and digging may significantly shape the living world around them.


The wood turtles about to board their flight.


A member of Staff at the University of Georgia’s Savannah River Ecology Laboratory in the US opens the crates to welcome the wood turtles home.

The species is listed under CITES II, this trade convention controls and restricts capture and international trade of wild animals. Anyone found guilty of importing or possessing a CITES-listed species into Hong Kong without appropriate permits can receive a penalty of HK$5 million and two years behind bars.




Hopefully all the wood turtles will produce young that can be released back into the wild, and prevent the species from going extinct.

It has cost KFBG in the region of HK$50,000 to care for the 43 turtles during the past two years. If you want to support our conservation work, you can make a donation via our website.