Diversity of turtles in captivity in Burkina Faso and their living conditions

Abstract

In Burkina Faso, some turtle species are only found in captivity. However, very little information is available on these captive specimens. The aim of this study is to provide updated information on turtles kept in captivity. A total of 224 people were interviewed, of whom 118 owned turtles and 106 did not. Turtles were kept as pets by the majority of owners (82.20%).
The number of captive turtles was estimated using the snowball sampling method between 2019 and 2022. Three turtle species were identified in the cities of Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso: Centrochelys sulcata (Miller, 1779), Kinixys nogueyi (Lataste, 1886) and Pelomedusa subrufa olivacea (Schweigger, 1812) and two species in the city of Fada N'Gourma: Centrochelys sulcata and Pelomedusa subrufa olivacea. A total of 714 turtles were observed, of which 95.24% were land turtles and 4.76% freshwater turtles. Their diet and habitat varied according to the owner's knowledge of turtle biology. This study shows that there are many turtles kept in captivity. It would be possible to use certain endangered turtle species in sustainable turtle management initiatives such as reintroduction into the natural environment.