26 June 

With over 1,000 star tortoises laying annually in Shwesettaw Wildlife Sanctuary, 50 per cent of laying star tortoises are alive, according to the Shwesettaw Wildlife Sanctuary administration office. 

“The star tortoises are mating two or three times per year. In 2019, the star tortoises laid a total of 1,150 eggs. Among them, 507 star tortoises were alive with 93 star tortoises dead. So, 50 per cent of laying star tortoises are alive,” said U Aung Soe Tint, the administrator of Shwesettaw Wildlife Sanctuary.

In 2020, star tortoises are laying a total of 130 eggs including 42 males and 97 female eggs. After raining season, they will be laying the eggs again in September. At present, there are a total of 1,025 star tortoises in Shwesettaw Wildlife Sanctuary. 

Five-year-old tortoises from Shwesettaw, Lawka Nanda, and Min Sone Taung farms are confined to and trained for one year in the star tortoises farming site, which is located 26 miles away from Shwesettaw Wildlife Sanctuary under the WCS programme. Then, they will be released naturally to the forest. 

Zayyatu (Magway) (Translated by Hay Mar)