Thousands of critically endangered tortoises were swept away from their sanctuary and left swimming for their lives after massive floods. The community near the Lavavolo Tortoise Center in southern Madagascar pulled together to help the creatures who were left terrified after a cyclone hit the region.
![[This undated handout photo provided by the Turtle Survival Alliance shows an endangered tortoise that was washed away from the Lavavolo Tortoise Center in southern Madagascar during flooding due to Cyclone Dikeledi. (Lavavolo Tortoise Center via AP)]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_237172022-bdd5.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
The 12,000 radiated and spider tortoises had been confiscated from illegal wildlife traffickers but faced a new and unexpected ordeal when Cyclone Dikeledi hit the southern part of the Indian Ocean island in mid-January. Flood waters more than 3 feet high engulfed the sanctuary, and the tortoises — many of them mere babes in the tortoise world at about 25-50 years old — were carried away.
![[This undated handout photo provided by the Turtle Survival Alliance shows staff members and volunteers rescuing some of the thousands of endangered tortoises that were washed away from the Lavavolo Tortoise Center in southern Madagascar during flooding Jan. 2025 because of Cyclone Dikeledi. (Lavavolo Tortoise Center via AP)]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_237178354-db1c.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
Sanctuary staff, members of the community and even police officers joined together in a rescue operation, wading through the water with large containers to collect the bewildered tortoises. Some rescuers converted damaged building structures into makeshift rafts for the tortoises to ride on as they moved around to find others.
Hery Razafimamonjiraibe, the Madagascar director for the Turtle Survival Alliance, said they believe over 10,000 tortoises were saved. He said the rescue was made difficult as they move faster than you think and ‘rarely cooperate’. The rescuers had recovered around 700 dead tortoises so far, which Razafimamonjiraibe said were trapped by rocks and debris in the floods.
‘Tortoises are actually very good swimmers,’ he added. ‘You should see them.’. While most of the tortoises have been returned to the sanctuary, the floods were a blow to the centre, which has lost much of its infrastructure, said the Turtle Survival Alliance.
