. We present survey data on one of the rarest turtles in the world, the Nubian flapshell turtle, Cyclanorbis elegans , on the basis of data coming from structured interviews with Bari fishermen of South Sudan and comparison of these data with those coming from our field studies. Our study documented that local ecological knowledge (LEK) data can be very useful to complement information on the natural history of rare and poorly known species and helpful to their conservation and management. We urge that any protected area focusing on C. elegans include a few of their communal nesting areas (as described by LEK) that should be carefully monitored to prevent collection of females or eggs during the reproductive period.