Denis Private Island has obtained equipment for tagging the tortoises on
Denis Private Island with micro-chips — i.e. Passive Induced Transponder (PIT)
tags. Green Islands Foundation arranged for Dr. Jeanne
Mortimer to visit the Denis Private Island Conservation Team to train them on how to deploy the PIT tags on the giant tortoises.
Dr. Janske van de
Crommenacker (Environment Manager) and Dr. Martijn van Dinther (Biosecurity and
Habitat Manager) recently joined the Denis Island Conservation team and this was their first training exercise on the island.
Tagging the
tortoises makes it possible to individually recognize them without giving them
a marking that is visible from the outside.
The PIT tags were applied just
above the tail. Once placed, they are invisible and are read with an electronic
scanner. They are relatively easy to apply, and the tortoises don’t seem to
mind their application. The individual mark makes it possible to monitor them individually
(growth, health, behaviour).
This exercise was co-funded by the GEF-UNDP-GoS
‘mainstreaming biodiversity’ project.
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