Thousands of endangered tortoises rescued after floods Thousands of critically endangered tortoises in Madagascar have been rescued after they were swept away from their sanctuary and left swimming for their lives in floods.
Hery Razafimamonjiraibe, the Madagascar director for the Turtle Survival Alliance, which runs the sanctuary, said they were hopeful they had rescued more than 10,000 of the tortoises - but they still had to do an official count.
But earlier this month, Cyclone Dikeledi hit the southern part of the Indian Ocean, causing flooding a metre high to engulf the sanctuary, carrying the tortoises away.
Rescuers had recovered around 700 dead tortoises so far, which Mr Razafimamonjiraibe said had been trapped by rocks and debris in the floods.
The 12,000 radiated and spider tortoises were housed at the Lavavolo Tortoise Centre after being rescued from wildlife traffickers.
