What is the Western Swamp Tortoise and why is it endangered?
The Western Swamp Tortoise, Pseudemydura umbrina, is the most endangered tortoise in the world. It is listed as critically endangered and there are estimated to be only 300 individuals remaining in the whole world and only 100 in the wild at only two places in the Swan Valley near Perth, Western Australia. These two sites are Twin Swamps and Ellen Brook Nature Reserves which are both surrounded by an electric vermin proof fence to protect the tortoises. They require a special type of swamp with clay or clay and sand bottoms that only fill with water for a short time every year. When Europeans settled the Swan Coastal Plain they cleared most of the Swan Valley for agricultural purposes, thus destroying most of their natural habitat. The introduction of foxes and feral cats, which eat the tortoise, have caused a major decline in numbers. There are also native animals which eat the tortoise, including crows, goannas and birds of prey.
