Pig-nosed turtle species decline by 50%

Numbers of pig-nosed turtles have declined steeply over the past 30 years, researchers have discovered.The unique reptile has become an international conservation icon, due to it having no close relatives and being considered the turtle most adapted to life underwater in freshwater ponds and rivers.

Yet demand for its eggs and meat in Papua New Guinea, one of the turtle's main homes, has led to the species being dramatically over-harvested by indigenous people.

Details of the decline are published in the journal Biological Conservation, which shows that the species have declined by 50% since 1981.