More Difficult By the Dozen

An Atlanta zoo has hatched a rare Arakan forest turtle, the offspring of one of the only twelve in captivity.

Zoo Atlanta is the only facility in the world successfully breeding the Arakan turtle, one of the most critically endangered animals on earth.

Scientists blame the rapid disappearance of the Arakan forest turtle — much like other shelled reptiles — on their popularity in Asia for cooking and medicinal purposes.

"For a species this close to extinction, it is simply not acceptable that they are being eaten," said Joseph Mendelson, curator of herpetology at the zoo.

Captive breeding programs don't "solve the problem of them being overharvested in the wild. It does make sure they don't go extinct while we work to solve that problem," Mendelson said.

The turtle has an abysmal survival rate. Hatchlings often die both in captivity and the wild, and food traders are plundering the population of adult turtles that could keep the species going.

The turtles are very delicate and mate only once a year.

"The animals seem to be extremely difficult to establish in captivity," said Peter Paul van Dijk, director of the tortoise and freshwater turtle program for Conservation International.

Makes pandas look like rabbits, eh? As for our household, no lizard eggs were viable, but Puffy looks up to giving it another try!