Endangered turtles grow strong at Oregon Zoo

by Eric Adams – KGW.com

PORTLAND, Ore. — Two endangered turtles will call the Oregon Zoo home for most of 2010, until they’re released into the wilds of the Columbia River Gorge.

The western pond turtles hatched recently and are no bigger than a U.S. quarter, Zoo spokesman Bill LaMarche said.

Over the next nine months, zoo staff will monitor the rare turtles’ development, making sure they grow strong enough to defend themselves against non-native threats, before they’ll be released.

Bullfrogs, an invasive species in the Gorge, pose a threat to the western pond turtle. The Zoo said it will release the two hatchlings once they weigh about 70 grams – a large-enough size to resist predatory attacks from bullfrogs and others.

Credit: Oregon Zoo

The western pond turtle’s native habitat is Washington state, and as recently as a decade ago only 150 turtles remained in the wild. There are now about 1,400, according to zoologists.

By the time the two hatchlings are released they’ll be the size of a 3-year-old turtle in the wild.

“The months the turtles spend at the zoo give them a real edge – scientists estimate that 95 percent of the turtles we’ve released into the Columbia River Gorge have survived,” zoologist David Shepherdson said.

The Zoo works with other organizations, including the Woodland Park Zoo, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to protect the endangered turtles through the Western Pond Turtle Recovery Project.

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