Tuesday, December 12, 2017 Press
Release issued by City of Atascadero
Just who were the highly unusual and
completely unexpected guests to arrive in Atascadero recently? And, when an out
of control wildland fire threatens, where do you go with hundreds of rare and
endangered turtles and tortoises? Well, Atascadero, of course! Where else would
you take them but to Atascadero's Historic City Hall basement!
With wildland fires raging across Ventura and
Los Angeles counties, thousands of residents and visitors were evacuated. The
largest of these fires, the Thomas Fire, had burned over 200,000 acres, spanned
over 200 square miles in Ventura County, and at one point had surrounded the
community of Ojai. Most of the Ojai Valley was under a mandatory evacuation
order.
When the Thomas Fire threatened the Turtle
Conservancy facility in Ojai, hundreds of rare and endangered specimens from
over 30 species of tortoises and turtles had to be quickly evacuated to avoid
catastrophe, including ploughshare tortoises, baby snake-necked turtles,
radiated tortoises, golden coin turtles and a nearly 400 pound Galapagos
tortoise, which took five strong men to load up. A caravan of fully loaded
trucks headed northbound on 101 to Atascadero, and the unusual guests were made
safely welcome at City Hall.
The Conservancy wasable to evacuate the bulk
of the animals from the sanctuary, including the most endangered species, but a
few remained in ponds that they couldn’t get to in time. Several Conservancy employees
stayed with the turtles against evacuation orders in hopes to protect them.
Why Atascadero? The Charles Paddock Zoo
in Atascadero is well known among fellow American Zoological Association (AZA)
accredited facilities as being committed to conservation and in aiding in the
long-term research and propagation of turtle and tortoise species through the
zoo’s Turtle Lab, designed specifically for that purpose in the hopes of
helping save these animals from extinction.
The Turtle Conservancy is dedicated to
protecting threatened turtles and tortoises and their habitats worldwide, and
to promoting their appreciation by people everywhere. The Conservancy preserves
critical ecosystems and wild lands. Their conservation breeding program
includes 35 species of turtles and tortoises, 14 of which are on the "Top
40 Most Endangered" list, according to the International Union for
Conservation of Nature's Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group.
Turtle Conservancy Chief Operating Officer,
Dr. Paul Gibbons and Charles Paddock Zoo Director Alan Baker have a long
professional association through the AZA and mutual interest in protecting and
preserving all species of turtles and tortoises. When confronted with a “turtle
evac” emergency, Dr. Gibbons reached out to Director Baker for assistance.
Working with City Manager Rachelle Rickard, the City of Atascadero was able to
provide a temporary secure and safe haven for the animals.
As soon as the imminent fire danger near the
Conservancy facility had passed, the mandatory evacuation orders had been
lifted and the City’s very unusual guests were able to return home, they were
all loaded back onto trucks from their warm and secure temporary housing here
at Historic City Hall to make the trek home again. City Manager Rachelle
Rickard says that the City of Atascadero “was very proud to be able to assist
in the rescue efforts and to provide a temporary home for the turtles. We were
happy that these unusual guests were able to call Atascadero “home”, even for a
short while.”
Visitors to the Charles Paddock Zoo can enjoy
the zoo’s collection of endangered turtles on exhibit including Radiated
Tortoises, Spider Tortoises and Big Headed Turtles. The zoo is extremely proud
to be home to six rare Radiated Tortoises, which are considered to be one of
the world’s most beautiful tortoises and are endangered, mainly due to poaching
and destruction of their habitat.
Over 200 animals call the Charles Paddock Zoo
home, including red pandas, monkeys,
Here's some video taken by CIty staff of
several of the Galapagos Tortoises being loaded up for their return trip from
CIty Hall back to their home in Ojai: https://youtu.be/_DjR68SIGtY
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