Climate Action United States Project #4038

Saving Endangered Turtles in the Pacific Northwest

by Oregon Zoo Foundation

Saving Endangered Turtles in the Pacific Northwest

Project Report | Jun 15, 2010
Turtle Update - spring 2010

By Michelle Schireman | Oregon Zoo Keeper (North America)

Thanks to everyone for helping with our western pond turtle head start program. With your help, the Oregon Zoo will continue to help rebuild wild populations of this endangered species with the ultimate goal of self-sustaining turtle populations in the Pacific Northwest.

We've had a busy spring here in Portland with 65 young turtles under care here at the Zoo. Sometime in early August, these charismatic little guys will be released back into the wild in ponds near the Columbia River. After nearly a year of eating and growing inside our Conservation Center located in our Cascade Stream and Pond building, these turtles are nearing the size required for release.

These baby turtles arrived as hatchlings last September- each at an average weight of 7 grams. Now they tip the scales at more than 75 grams apiece! Four "holdover" turtles from 2008, now weighing up to 250 grams, will also be returned to the wild. All will be too big for bullfrogs and largemouth bass to eat and, hopefully, they'll spend the next 9 years growing to the age when they can breed and produce more turtles.

Before they are released, each young turtle will be micro-chipped with its unique identification number and have a harmless, small notch made in their carapace to help Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife field biologists to identify them without needing to catch them again. Release day is a special occasion. It's great to see them swim off, even if keepers are sometimes a little sad to see them go.

But then, in September, we'll receive another 60-70 baby turtles and the growing process will begin all over again. If you find yourself in Portland, Oregon and are interested in seeing our current population of young turtles, please stop by and say "hello!"

Thanks again to everyone for your help with this important conservation project. GlobalGivcing supporters DO make a difference and demonstrate progress on our stated mission: "to inspire our commuinity to create a better future for wildlife."

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Feb 17, 2010
Our baby pond turtles are growing quickly!

By Michelle Schireman | Lead Western pond turtle keeper at the Oregon Zoo

I’m happy to report that 68 juvenile Western pond turtles are thriving in their temporary home at the Oregon Zoo. By July, they should be ready for release in the Columbia River Gorge. Here’s a recap of what we’ve done during the past 8 months to bring these turtles to the Zoo and then help them grow three times faster than they would in the wild:

Last summer, wildlife recovery workers monitored female pond turtles in Washington State to determine where they would dig nests; once the turtles laid their eggs, workers covered the nests with wire “exclosure” cages to keep predators from eating the incubating eggs. In September, newly-hatched turtles were collected from these nests and either brought here to the Oregon Zoo or taken to the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle (Woodland Park has a turtle “head-start” program, too).

The hatchlings have since grown from the size of a quarter (they weighed 6-9 grams at hatching) to 2.5” in diameter, thanks to lots of heat, light and food. We use heat lamps to trick the turtles into thinking they live in a kind of perpetual summer, so instead of becoming dormant like their species usually does in winter, the turtles have kept on eating and growing. By the time they’re released this summer, they will have reached the size of a wild three-year-old pond turtle.

Thank you to everyone who has supported this project – you’re helping to save a species from extinction. Please let us know if you have any comments or questions about the project’s progress or pond turtles in general. We want as many people as possible to learn about and be involved with the Zoo’s conservation work (we also have programs for endangered butterflies, frogs, California condors, and other species). So spread the word! Tell your friends and family members about how they can help pond turtles.

Links:

Learn how to protect wildlife in your own backyard.

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