A flood struck in Madagascar. Tortoises swam for their lives!

The flood started like this. A cyclone hit the southern part of an island. The flood waters rose three feet high. The Lavavolo Tortoise Center got swamped. About 12,000 radiated and spider tortoises lived there. Officials took them from poachers. Many of the creatures are about 25 to 50 years old. In the tortoise world, they’re just youngsters!

Sanctuary workers, locals, and police officers worked together. They waded through the water. They carried large containers. They placed the bewildered tortoises inside. 

Some rescuers turned parts of damaged buildings into rafts. The tortoises rode on them as rescuers searched for others.

Hery Razafimamonjiraibe directs the Turtle Survival Alliance in Madagascar. That group runs the sanctuary. He thinks rescuers saved more than 10,000 tortoises. That’s not easy, he says. Tortoises can move faster than you think when they want to. And they rarely cooperate.

Thankfully, “most of the tortoises were able to float,” Mr. Razafimamonjiraibe says. “Tortoises are actually very good swimmers,” he adds. 

Most of the tortoises at Lavavolo are radiated tortoises. They are native to Madagascar. They also live on the nearby islands of Reunion and Mauritius. They generally grow to almost one foot long. They can live for more than 100 years.

Radiated and spider tortoises are endangered in Madagascar. People build on their habitats. Poachers catch them. 

Some people eat them. But most like the creatures for their outsides­—their yellow and black markings. So poachers also sell them as pets.