5 hours to go!

We're on the home stretch - the time is now!

We are heading into the final hours of our campaign to build the FIRST EVER conservation breeding facility for the endangered Manning River turtle.

The momentum has started to pick up, however we are still $15,000 short of our goal with only 5 hours left!

And remember if we don't raise the total ask, the turtles get NONE of the funding pledged so far and we're back to square one - we have come too far to lose it all!

Thank you for all of the support so far but now is the time to kick that momentum to the next level

PLEASE continue to help us by sharing the campaign, telling your friends and family about it and most importantly, donating to the cause

WE CAN DO THIS! But only with YOUR help!

EXTINCTION IS NOT AN OPTION!

24 hours to go!

Hi everyone,

We are are now 24 hours away from the end of our Crowdfunding campaign to help save the Manning River turtle and we still have $20,000 to reach our goal! We are getting closer to our goal and have come too far to not reach 100%! 

A big thank you to our most recent Project Partner to join the campaign, Kleinfelder as well as any one else who has commited funds to the project over the last few days.

The support so far has been incredible and we can’t thank you all enough, but if we don't reach our goal by 5pm tomorrow ALL of the pledges are refunded. Unfortunately this is how the Crowdfunding model works so please keep liking and sharing to get the word out there! We know we can make it together!!! 

We NEED to save the Manning River turtle before they are gone forever!

Don't delay - donate today!

1 week to go!

Thank you to everyone who has already donated to our Crowdfunding Campaign; raising much needed funds for Aussie Ark's latest project - to build a species-saving breeding facility for the endangered Manning River turtle.

Now is the time to dig deep as we are heading into our final week and are at 70% of our total ask - every cent counts!

We are so close but we only have days left. If we don't raise the full amount of $110,000 we don't get the money to save the turtles, it's just how Crowdfunding works!

A special thank you to The Australian Reptile Park, Kellyville Pets, the Manning River Oyster Farmers Association for their generous pledges this week as well as anyone else who has contributed!

Please continue to keep sharing our cause with your family and friends, We can do this, but only with everyone banding together!

Help us save this Aussie battler!

Almost at 40%!!!

Thanks to the influx of donations this week we are almost at 40% of our target!

Special mentions to The Happy Wombat and Manning River Steel for coming on board as Project Partners and to Illawarra Reptile Society for their generous contribution!

Today also marks National Threatened Species Day. On the night of 7th September 1936, the last Tasmanian tiger died in Hobart Zoo. With the death of this animal the thylacine species became extinct. In 1996, on the sixtieth anniversary of the last Tasmanian tiger’s death, 7th September was declared ‘National Threatened Species Day’ — a time to reflect on what happened to the thylacine and how similar fates could await other native plants and animals unless appropriate action is taken.

Your support of our project shows that YOU care, but we have to keep spreading the word to ensure that the Manning River turtle does not go extinct like the Tasmanian tiger!

EXTINCTION IS NOT AN OPTION!

Please continue to share our campaign and urge your friends and family to pledge their support - the turtles need all the help they can get!

Meet Manny - our first turtle in our breeding program!

We have some very exciting news!!! We have had our very first Manning River turtle arrive to become the first specimen of our conservation breeding program!

Meet Manny:

Sadly, two individuals were illegally poached from their natural environment, with only Manny surviving. After being confiscated by OEH (Office of Environmental Heritage) Manny was placed into care with our partnered organisation The Australian Reptile Park as the founder turtle for the project.

She is the first of her kind to arrive at any conservation organisation in Australia, or the world!

Conservationists have noted that Manny's species, the Manning River turtle, may be Australia's oldest turtle species - estimated at 55 million years old! However, the species is at a high risk of extinction! No-one knows how many specimens are left in the wild, there could be as little as a few hundred!

We know we can do this BUT only with your continued help! Please help keep the momentum up by sharing to your friends and encouraging people to fight for Manny and the rest of the Manning River turtles!

EVERY CENT COUNTS!!

We're off to a GREAT start!!

A huge thank you to those who have donated and shared the campaign in our first week! We are extremely appreciative of your ongoing generosity and are committed to making this project happen.

We know we can do this BUT only with your continued help! Please help keep the momentum up by sharing to your friends and encouraging people to fight for the endangered Manning River turtle

REMEMBER EVERY DOLLAR MAKES A DIFFERENCE!

A big shout out to some of our bigger pledges including Aus Eco Solutions, Australian Herpetological Society, Kane & Rachael Durrant (Wild Aquarium & Reptile Specialists) and Rick Worthy! Also anyone who has contributed any amount large or small – every cent counts and we appreciate your contribution!

To those who have shared our cause to the world – you have helped spread the word and given the campaign fresh eyes. It’s heart-warming to see what support we have from other people with passion for the project.

Help us continue the fight, and not lose momentum. Keep spreading the word – share to your friends and lets work together to save this little Aussie battler!

EXTINCTION IS NOT AN OPTION!!

Will you help us save the Manning River Turtle?

Hello Everyone!

Thanks to your support in two previous Pozible campaigns, we have delivered wonderful outcomes for both the endangered Eastern quoll and Tasmanian devil! In 2018 we bred our 300th Tasmanian devil joey, and now successfully provide refuge for over 60 Eastern quolls. We are currently preparing to send our first quolls home to the wild in early 2019 - we simply couldn't have done this without you!

With the worst extinction record on earth, Australia needs to act now. Aussie Ark is committed to saving some of Australia's most threatened species of wildlife. Everyone is responsible for ensuring our wildlife can survive. With over 30 species already gone forever, and another 20 expected to disappear in the near future, it is up to us to turn things around!

By 2020, we will have six insurance populations of the selected, threatened species and by 2025 we aim to release these species back into the wild.

BUT we need your help again!

We are now focussed on saving  the endangered Manning River turtle. The Manning River turtle is distinguished from other species by its yellow markings on the neck, carapace and tail. This striking turtle is endemic to the mid-north coast of New South Wales (NSW) and is restricted to the middle and upper stretches of the Manning River catchment area - it isn't found anywhere else on Earth! 

Peter Schouten AM, who in 2016 became a Member of the Order of Australia for his services to wildlife illustration and the preservation and documentation of national history, says the Manning River turtle is more than 55 million years old and is perhaps the oldest turtle in Australia.

“It’s much, much more ancient than the Bellinger turtle. It’s actually a living fossil,” Peter said. (Driscoll, Wingham Chronicle, March 1, 2017, C.Latta, AFTCRA, 2011 )

Freshwater turtles are natures vacuums, they are critical to our freshwater ecosystems, cleaning up our beautiful river systems, keeping aquatic vegetation in balance, and maintaining the stunning waterways we are so proud of. 

THE PROBLEM

In 2015, a population of a similar species, the Bellinger River turtle, was decimated due to a disease and in a biosecurity bulletin issued by the NSW Department of Primary Industries in September 2015, it was stated that it was “important to heighten surveillance” for the Manning River turtle. Thankfully, to date the disease has not been found in the Manning River turtle's population. However, concern is high within the zoological and ecological community that the species is under threat of extinction.

In September 2016, the NSW Scientific Committee established by the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 published a preliminary determination to list the Manning River turtle as an endangered species. The turtle previously had no conservation status, as it has been poorly studied with the exact size of the population not known. Recent dramatic declines have been noted and supported by a study Dr Bruce Chessman (NSW Office of Environment and Heritage ecologist) in 2013 in which he reported that they only found a few turtles in three of six sites, and none of those were juveniles. (J. Driscol, Whingham Chronical, March 1, 2017, C.Latta, AFTCRA, 2011 )

“Their ability to recover from a catastrophic loss of adults caused by disease, poaching or other causes is likely to be limited,” the NSW Scientific Committee Preliminary Determination found.

The speed of its disappearance from the waterways of the Manning River district  in NSW Australia warranted the upgrade of the turtle’s status to Endangered in 2017. 

Predation is a key threat to this amazing little turtle, with the introduced feral fox and feral pig the primary threats. They feed on eggs, young turtles, and even mothers as they lay their eggs in nests on the river's bank! According to the NSW Scientific Committee, similar turtle species nest sites in the area have been predated by up to 90%. Other threats including degradation of habitat, human interference and poaching are cited as reasons for the decline in the turtle population.

Emergency intervention is required to house an insurance population to safeguard the future of the species.  

For many Australian species, action is taken too late. Often populations are reduced to a level where genetic diversity is irrevocably reduced. Often by this stage the establishment of a robust and genetically diverse insurance population is no longer viable, or highly problematic at best. There is a need to act now in a proactive manner, prior to any further decline.

THE SOLUTION

The Australian Reptile Park and Aussie Ark have joined forces to save this species. 

Australian freshwater turtles live in a fragile and niche environment. In the case of the Manning River turtle, they require clean, flowing substantial bodies of water to thrive. For a captive insurance population to be established, specialised facilities are required to enable a population to thrive. 

Aussie Ark has a proven model in establishing robust and healthy insurance populations. Utilising this knowledge, and the husbandry expertise of the Australian Reptile Park, we are able to change the trajectory of this unique Australian species. 

This Aussie Ark facility will be constructed on the Australian Reptile Park site, being environmentally, and climatically perfect due to its proximity to the wild distribution of the species. Construction is planned to begin in late September, to be completed by November 2018. The facility will be built following the successful models of captive turtle facilities at Symbio Wildlife Park and Taronga Zoo with similar species of Australian freshwater turtles. 

An initial collection of wild specimens for the establishment of a long-term robust insurance population will occur in late 2018, of between 2-4 adult males and  2-6 adult females.  These individuals will be the first founders of a healthy captive population providing protection of the species well into the future. 

Additionally, in partnership with the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, we will conduct ongoing in situ population surveys to monitor the status of the wild population, protect nesting sites and land management activities within their natural habitat and once captive breeding has been established and increased, wild translocation from the captive facility to areas the turtles were formally found will be conducted, to bolster wild populations, to ensure the species remains ecologically functional while further wild solutions are addressed and implemented. 

PROJECT PARTNERS

Aussie Ark is a registered environmental organisation and charitable institution under the Australian Charity and Not-for-Profit Commission.  Aussie Ark has deductible gift recipient status (DGR status) and is registered for GST purposes. 

We are grateful to the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, Global Wildlife Conservation, Andrew Sabin Family Foundation and The Australian Reptile Park for all recognising the urgency and necessity of this project. Only with their assistance, could the project be brought to life.

HOW THE FUNDS WILL BE USED

100% of the funds raised will be spent on the construction of a world class turtle breeding facility. Capital development costs include the following:

-Concrete, site works, utilities - rainwater tanks

-Security, surveillance - installation of camera surveillance system including alarms as well as monitoring equipment

• -Framework - external structure for entirely enclosed and secure facilities
• -Plumbing - sinks, hoses, capturing water from above and delivery to all individual ponds 
• -Tools and equipment, storage, quarantine

Sub total =  $77,630

Individual turtle habitat / pond development:

-5000 Litre ponds

• -Aquaforce pumps
• -Bioforce filters
• -Nesting boxes / basking areas
• -Pond vacuums
• -Water Heaters

Estimated cost for 10 ponds = $37,370

TOTAL = $110,000

CHALLENGES

Our main challenges are time and money. Conservation is expensive! Establishing facilities for endangered species takes time, effort and funds. 

The speed of its disappearance from the waterways of the Manning River district in NSW Australia warranted the upgrade of the turtle’s status to Endangered in 2017. For the long-term survival of the species, the acquisition of the existing genetic diversity of the wild population is critical ie founders must be unrelated, from different areas, and representative of the species' genetic diversity. At the current rate of decline, and if intervention is not undertaken immediately, the acquisition of genetics becomes increasingly challenging and may jeopardise the long-term survival of the species.

The race is on to save this unique and endangered turtle, and we can do it with your help!