The police maritime boat group in Coron has turned over four endangered species of turtles they recently rescued in Barangay Bintuan to the personnel of the district management division of the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff (PCSDS) in Calamian.
The PCSDS said Tuesday that the species that were handed over on August 17 by the boat unit in Coron of the 2nd Special Operations-Maritime Group consisted of an Asian leaf turtle (Cyclemys dentata) and three Southeast Asian box turtles (Cuora amboinensis).
The PCSDS said that under Resolution 15-521, Southeast Asian box turtles are classified “endangered species,” while the Asian leaf turtle falls into the “lower risk” category according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.
The “lower risk” designation signifies that its population is sufficiently robust to ensure survival, placing it slightly above the classifications of threatened species.
The Southeast Asian box turtle also falls under the “vulnerable” category of species in the IUCN Red list, with a very high risk of extinction.
