The illegal wildlife trade is driving declines in populations of a number of large, charismatic animal species but also many lesser known and restricted-range species, some of which are now facing extinction as a result. The ploughshare tortoise Astrochelys yniphora, endemic to the Baly Bay National Park of north-western Madagascar, is affected by poaching for the international illegal pet trade. To quantify this, we estimated population trends during 2006–2015, using distance sampling surveys along line transects, and recorded national and international confiscations of trafficked tortoises for 2002–2016. The results suggest the ploughshare tortoise population declined > 50% during this period, to c. 500 adults and subadults in 2014–2015. Prior to 2006 very few tortoises were seized either in Madagascar or internationally but confiscations increased sharply from 2010. Since 2015 poaching has intensified, with field reports suggesting that two of the four subpopulations are extinct, leaving an unknown but almost certainly perilously low number of adult tortoises in the wild. This study has produced the first reliable population estimate of the ploughshare tortoise and shows that the species has declined rapidly because of poaching for the international pet trade. There is an urgent need for increased action both in Madagascar and along international trade routes if the extinction of the ploughshare tortoise in the wild is to be prevented.

中文翻译：

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非法的宠物贸易使马达加斯加的犁头龟濒临灭绝

非法野生动植物贸易导致一些大型、有魅力的动物物种数量减少，但也导致许多鲜为人知和限制范围的物种数量下降，其中一些物种现在正面临灭绝。犁铧龟鹧鸪是马达加斯加西北部巴利湾国家公园特有的，受到国际非法宠物贸易偷猎的影响。为了量化这一点，我们估计了 2006-2015 年期间的人口趋势，使用沿线样带的距离抽样调查，并记录了 2002-2016 年被贩运的陆龟的国家和国际没收情况。结果表明，犁铧龟的数量在此期间下降了 > 50%，至 c。2014-2015 年 500 名成人和亚成人。2006 年之前，无论是在马达加斯加还是在国际上，都很少有陆龟被缉获，但自 2010 年以来，没收的陆龟数量急剧增加。自 2015 年以来，偷猎活动愈演愈烈，实地报告表明四个亚种群中的两个已经灭绝，留下一个未知但几乎可以肯定是危险的低数量的成年陆龟野外的乌龟。这项研究对犁鳖龟的种群数量进行了第一次可靠的估计，并表明由于国际宠物贸易的偷猎，该物种迅速减少。如果要防止犁头龟在野外灭绝，迫切需要在马达加斯加和国际贸易路线沿线采取更多行动。