Kinixys lobatsiana was considered to be Vulnerable at a Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group Red Listing workshop in late 2013 (TTWG 2014), but was listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List in 2017 based on earlier 2010 and 2013 assessments (Bates et al. 2014, Boycott 2014, TTWG 2014). The range of K. lobatsiana falls mainly within Limpopo Province of South Africa, for which 15% of land cover is considered developed or degraded (Limpopo Environmental Outlook Report 2016). The remaining 85% of its natural habitat includes Kruger National Park, where K. lobatsiana does not occur. Consequently, degradation of this species’ habitat would be in excess of 15% in Limpopo and even higher in Gauteng Province. Changes in habitat availability are due mainly to agricultural conversion, urban development, and mining activities (Driver et al. 2012, Schoeman et al. 2013), with alien species invasion representing another threat (Rouget et al. 2004). The use of mechanical bush clearing and fire as management tools are particularly destructive (Mifsud and Stapleton 2014). Another factor that compromises the species’ survival is its strong association with rocky hillsides and outcrops, which isolate local populations when the plains and valleys that link their preferred habitat are degraded and destroyed. Although legal trade appears to be low, there is evidence that all Kinixys species are collected for food, cultural purposes, and the pet trade, which can cause local extinctions (Mifsud and Stapleton 2014). We estimate that at least 20 to 25% of the species’ habitat has been destroyed or degraded over the past 35-40 years (1.5 generations) and that this figure would reach 30-40% over the next 1.5-generation span. Based on past and future loss to the species’ habitat we infer a population reduction in excess of 30% and consider the species Vulnerable based on criterion A4cde.
Distribution
Kinixys lobatsiana is near-endemic to South Africa, extending from the northeastern parts of the North West Province, eastwards through northern Gauteng and adjacent parts of Mpumalanga and northwards into Limpopo, south of the Soutpansberg (Broadley and Boycott 2008, TTWG 2017). An easternmost record for the species from Manyeleti Game Reserve in the subtropical Lowveld is believed to represent a translocation from the Bushveld (Broadley 1993). A single record from Waterpoort on the northern side of the Soutpansberg was considered by Broadley (1993) to have been washed through the gorge during a flood, but it could have been transported by human agency. The species also extends slightly into southeastern Botswana to the Lobatse district.
There is no direct information currently available on population numbers of Kinixys lobatsiana, but documented loss and degradation of available habitat suggest significant population declines.
Threats
Kinixys lobatsiana faces a number of threats, the most important being habitat destruction and degradation (urbanization, mining, agriculture), inclusive of alien species invasion (Rouget et al. 2004, Driver et al. 2012). A combined soil and rangeland degradation map indicates that degradation severity in the 1990s varied from light to severe over most of the species’ distribution (Hoffman et al. 1999). A subsequent study, evaluating change in land cover between 1994 and 2005, showed extensive deterioration in land cover in the Provinces where this species occurs (Schoeman et al. 2013). Apart from habitat destruction and degradation, the use of fire as a tool for livestock and biodiversity management has the potential to kill large numbers of tortoises. Additional threats include collection for food and cultural purposes and the international pet trade (legal and illegal), which can cause local extinctions (Mifsud and Stapleton 2014).
Uses and trade
Kinixys lobatsiana is presumed to be actively hunted for consumption and potentially for medicinal and cultural purposes and is known to be collected for the pet trade (Mifsud and Stapleton 2014). Limited data are available on legal trade and no quantitative data are available on hunting pressure locally or regionally.
Conservation
Kinixys lobatsiana is included in CITES Appendix II (as Testudinidae spp.) and receives formal protection in Botswana as well as in South Africa. In the latter, it is protected by provincial nature conservation ordinances and biodiversity laws at a regional level, but the species is not protected at a national level by the National Environmental Management Biodiversity Act, 2004 (Act No. 10 of 2004). In South Africa, its range falls within a number of protected areas, such as the Loskop Dam, Ohrigstad Dam, and Nylsvley Nature Reserves (Boycott and Bourquin, 2000). No formal research has been done on this species. Of greatest importance is that the conservation status of populations and their habitat should be assessed, as well as the threats faced by populations in different regions. In addition, research projects that focus on the life history traits, reproductive biology and ecology of the species, should be initiated.
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,]
