Mammals
Birds
Amphibians
Reptiles
Meet the ploughshare, the world’s most threatened tortoise
They are only found in a tiny area of Madagascar in the dry forests of Baly Bay National Park and get the name ‘ploughshare’ because of the plough shaped extension on the front of their shell.
It is their unique shell that makes them highly desirable to wildlife traffickers, who smuggle the tortoises out of Madagascar for the illegal pet trade.
At Jersey Zoo, you'll find our ploughshare tortoises in the Reptile and Amphibian House, where you can get a closer look at their golden-domed shells that make them so iconic.
Animal facts
Key facts about the ploughshare tortoise
I'm found in Madagascar
Ploughshare tortoises live in the dry forest of Baly Bay in Madagascar.
I'm a herbivore
Ploughshare tortoises eat grasses and shrubs but will also feed on the dried faeces of carnivores.
I have a unique shell
Their large golden-domed shell makes ploughshare tortoises unmistakeable.
1984
Ploughshare conservation begins
105
Released into the wild
800
Captive-bred tortoises
Durrell was the first organisation to successfully breed ploughshare tortoises in captivity
Our conservation work
What we're doing to help save the ploughshare tortoise
Empowering local communities
Habitat loss due to agriculture, the trapping and trafficking into the illegal pet trade and community ignorance of the needs of local wildlife all caused dramatic population decreases of the ploughshare tortoise.
Protection from poaching
Ploughshare tortoises are particularly desirable on the black market, selling for vast sums of money. Poaching for the illegal pet trade continues to be the leading cause of their population decline.
Establishing a safety net population
With such a small wild population, that continues to be decimated by poaching, breeding is minimal and any wild juveniles are at risk of being stolen.
Meet Project Manager Henri Rakotosalama and learn about the plight of the ploughshare and the work we're doing to protect this tortoise and its habitat.
Support our conservation work