Science & Medicine

Marking rare tortoises

Paul Gibbons and Armando Jimenez of the Behler Chelonian Center use a drill tool to etch a code onto the shells of two ploughshare tortoises to reduce the risk that they'll be stolen by poachers.

Paul Gibbons and Armando Jimenez of the Behler Chelonian Center use a drill tool to etch a code onto the shells of two ploughshare tortoises to reduce the risk that they’ll be stolen by poachers.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Tortoise

The block figures were placed at the top of the turtle¿s back, where it won’t interfere with the expansion of the shell, which grows at the edges.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Drill tool

Dr. Paul Gibbons, managing director of the Turtle Conservancy’s Behler Chelonian Center in Southern California, adds an identification code to a tortoise’s back. The center aims to mark each of the 360 ploughshare tortoises in captivity and 300 in the wild.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Galapagos tortoise

Daphnia is a newly rescued Galapagos tortoise at the Turtle Conservancy’s Behler Chelonian Center in Ventura County.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Newly rescued

Daphne is a 40-year-old female giant Galapagos tortoise and is looking for a mate.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Testing

Dr. Paul Gibbons tested various ways to mark the domes or tortoises.   (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Marking

The two ploughshare tortoises marked Tuesday were flown in from Taiwan, where they were seized in 2008.   (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Radiated tortoise

Dr. Paul Gibbons holds a radiated tortoise from Madagascar.   (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Sulawesi Forest turtle

Two Sulawesi forest turtles, which are near extinction, were seized at LAX in February.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Tortoises

The ploughshare tortoises have been branded for life.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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