Saving Endangered Turtles in the Pacific Northwest

Summer is winding down in Portland, and for 16 western pond turtles reared at the Oregon Zoo that means it's time to go home. With the help of volunteers and local wildlife agencies, the zoo returned the endangered reptiles to the wild at the Columbia River Gorge.

Since last spring, the turtles basked in the warmth and light of a simulated summer at the zoo's conservation lab, growing large enough to have a fighting chance in the wild. Now they're ready for the real thing.

"Here at the zoo, the turtles don't go into hibernation," said senior keeper Shelly Pettit. "They experience summer year-round, and in less than a year grow to about the size of a 2- to 3-year-old wild turtle. This gives them a much greater chance of surviving to adulthood."

Keepers prepare the turtles for life outdoors by helping them learn to hunt for food and giving them plenty of time outside to acclimate to changing temperatures. Once the turtles reach about 50 grams (a little less than 2 ounces), they're taken to the Columbia River Gorge where a team of volunteers and conservationists return them to their natural habitat and monitor them for safety.

"When the young turtles are this big, they're able to avoid predators that threaten them, like non-native bullfrogs," Pettit said.

The biggest threat to fragile baby turtles has been the bullfrog. Native to areas east of the Rockies, this nonindigenous frog has thrived throughout the West, driving pond turtles and a host of other small, vulnerable aquatic species to the brink of extinction.

As part of the Western Pond Turtle Recovery Project, conservationists "head-start" newly hatched turtles gathered from wild sites, nurturing them at the zoo for up to a year. In one study, scientists estimated that 95 percent of the turtles released back to the Gorge survive annually.

"We've been doing this for more than 20 years now, and we feel we've been successful in preventing extinction," said Dr. David Shepherdson, Oregon Zoo conservation scientist. "We've made the first step toward recovery — but we're not there yet."

The turtles were released into two different ponds in the Gorge last week, and at each location they were greeted by larger, older western pond turtles basking in the sun — a great sign for the newcomers. Each of the 16 turtles entered the water and quickly swam toward their new home.

The western pond turtle, once common from Baja California to the Puget Sound, is listed as an endangered species in Washington and a sensitive species in Oregon. Two decades ago, western pond turtles were on the verge of completely dying out in Washington, with fewer than 100 turtles left in the state. Since then, more than 1,500 zoo-headstarted turtles have been released.

The Western Pond Turtle Recovery Project is a collaborative effort by the Oregon Zoo, Woodland Park Zoo, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bonneville Power Administration, USDA Forest Service and other partners.

In the Oregon Zoo’s conservation lab, four tiny hatchlings have come out of their shells. The nickel-sized western pond turtles, which came to the lab as eggs earlier this month, are the first of this endangered species to hatch in the zoo’s conservation lab.

“We head-start baby western pond turtles in our lab and release them each year, but those turtles have already hatched when they’re brought in,” said Steve Hash, a keeper in the zoo’s reptile and amphibian area. “We had an adult western pond turtle in the lab for treatment last month and surprise! She laid a clutch of eggs.”

To see one of the baby turtles hatching from its shell, go to: bit.ly/tinyturtlehatch

In addition to rearing turtle hatchlings for release, Hash and his fellow turtle keepers treat adult turtles brought to the lab with shell disease, an emerging condition that causes lesions on the otherwise hard shells of western pond turtles. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife brought a small group of turtles to the zoo in May, where they were successfully treated. The adults were released back to the wild, but the surprise hatchlings will stay in the lab until they’re big enough to fend for themselves.

“We have everything we need to raise these baby turtles here,” Hash said. “They’re already eating well and growing fast, which is just what they need to do to get ready to go out in the wild.”

Unlike recovery programs for other endangered species like California condors or Taylor's checkerspot butterflies — which take place offsite or behind the scenes — this conservation effort is easy to see. Oregon Zoo visitors can watch the small turtles as they grow inside the zoo's Nature Exploration Station.

The western pond turtle, once common from Baja California to the Puget Sound, is listed as an endangered species in Washington and a sensitive species in Oregon. Two decades ago, western pond turtles were on the verge of completely dying out in Washington, with fewer than 100 turtles left in the state. Since then, more than 1,500 zoo-headstarted turtles have been released.

The Western Pond Turtle Recovery Project is a collaborative effort by the Oregon Zoo, Woodland Park Zoo, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bonneville Power Administration, USDA Forest Service and other partners.