You helped create the first reserve for the Dahl’s Toad-headed Turtle

Northern Colombia’s tropical dry forest region has suffered from decades of unsustainable cattle and agricultural development. Now, only 8% remains intact, making it the most threatened tropical forest in the country.

This region is home to a wealth of unique species, including the endemic and Critically Endangered Dahl’s Toad-headed Turtle. The highly limited riparian range of this freshwater turtle is disappearing from increasing deforestation, leaving it at serious risk of extinction.

Rainforest Trust worked with our local partner, Wildlife Conservation Society-Colombia, to survey 30 potential sites for a protected area that would most benefit this species. In November 2019, we officially established the first-ever protected area for the species: Reserva Natural La Carranchina, a 297-acre swath of this rare forest habitat.

Many tortoise species benefit from the new reserve

Many other rare turtle and tortoise species benefit from this protection such as Red-footed Tortoises, Tabasco Mud Turtles, Colombian Sliders and Colombian Wood Turtles. The protected area contains several bodies of water necessary for the survival of these reptiles, and new pools will be constructed to increase water availability.

Thank you for creating lasting protection

So far the reserve is the only site in the Dahl’s Toad-headed Turtles’ range where human activities can be controlled, leaving the land and water bodies undisturbed. Our partner ensures that deforestation and other habitat encroachment is prevented and allowing them to rehabilitate the degraded forest.

Rainforest Trust also protects the Dahl’s Toad-headed Turtle in our Los Tities de San Juan Reserve in Colombia, just 65 miles away.