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STAR-TELEGRAM (Dallas, Texas) 15 September 03 Zoo experiencing baby tortoise boom (Chris Vaughn)
Photo: Herpetarium keeper Matt Vaughan handles one of the 16 endangered Asian brown mountain tortoises hatched last week at the Fort Worth Zoo. The adult turtles at the zoo are among 3,200 tortoises seized in a worldwide rescue effort. (Jessica Kourkounis)
Fort Worth: The endangered tortoises arrived in Texas, thousands of miles from the crowded shipping crates where they were found, dehydrated, half-starved and riddled with parasites.
But in 18 months, the five Asian brown mountain tortoises sent to the Fort Worth Zoo have demonstrated to animal experts why their species still roams the planet after millions of years.
A week ago, 16 baby tortoises poked their heads out of eggs, an unexpected thrill not just for the zoo but also for the Turtle Survival Alliance, an organization that was instrumental in rescuing thousands of threatened and endangered turtles and tortoises from Southeast Asia in 2001.
"This is a significant step," said Rick Hudson, a conservation biologist with the zoo who is co-chairman of the nonprofit alliance.
The babies at the zoo are the first offspring of 3,200 turtles and tortoises brought to the United States from that rescue; hundreds of those turtles died shortly after arriving.
The babies provide new genetic material to continue breeding efforts as a hedge against extinction for brown mountain tortoises, the largest of the Asian tortoises.
In December 2001, customs agents in Hong Kong seized 10,000 turtles and tortoises from a ship illegally bound for China, where they would be "cracked open like an oyster and tossed in a soup pot," Hudson said.
The turtles are illegally taken out of habitats in Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos, Burma and other Asian nations and shipped to China for food and medicine.
"It's unsustainable," Hudson said of the pace of the food trade. "We're going to be losing species in the next 10 to 15 years."
Some of the zoo's tiny turtles, measuring about 2 inches long, went on exhibit Monday in the herpetarium. When they grow a bit more, they will probably go to other zoos and private breeders.
Zoo experiencing baby tortoise boom

Keep up the good work- Your stories are awesome! Thanks. Brooks