Thousands of endangered tortoises rescued in Madagascar after flood

Staff members and volunteers rescued thousands of endangered tortoises (Lavavolo Tortoise Centre via AP)

A community in southern Madagascar has pulled together to save thousands of critically endangered tortoises swept away from their sanctuary by floods after a tropical cyclone.

The 12,000 radiated and spider tortoises that were housed at the Lavavolo Tortoise Centre 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.