Please (Don't) Take a Number

To save Madagascar's ploughshare tortoises, conservationists mark them up

Madagascar's ploughshare tortoise, known locally as the angonoka, is listed as critically endangered, with as few as 600 remaining in the wild. One major threat to the species is illegal wildlife trafficking. In 2016, conservation groups launched a new strategy to discourage smuggling: defacing the tortoise shells to make the animals less attractive to buyers. The engraving is painless, as the shells are made of a thick keratin. 

See a slideshow of Flach's work: sc.org/flach.