Increase in Turtle “Rescues” Prompts CDFW to Ask Public to Leave Turtles Alone- California - Mostly They Are Picking Them Up On Their Way to Nest - via Herp Digest

Wednesday, 13 May 2015 01:29 Lake County News reports

  

More than a few kind-hearted Californians are unnecessarily “rescuing” western pond turtles this spring, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is imploring to the public to leave them alone.

Turtles normally travel away from water during a portion of their life cycle, and a solo turtle is not necessarily a lost or distressed turtle.

Spring is nesting season, so many turtles are leaving their aquatic habitat and traveling upland to lay eggs.

Wildlife rehabilitation centers and animal shelters report that a surprising number of people have been bringing healthy western pond turtles – California’s only native freshwater turtle species – to their facilities, thinking there is something wrong with them because they’re not in a pond.

The common name “pond turtle” doesn’t mean they never leave ponds. In fact, this species more frequently lives in rivers, streams, lakes, and permanent and temporary wetlands.

It requires terrestrial habitats not only to nest, but also to wait out extended hot, dry periods or overwinter in a state of dormancy throughout many parts of California.

While most western pond turtles nest somewhat near water, they have been documented traveling long distances (more than 500 yards) to upland habitat to lay eggs and sometimes even farther to overwinter.

With water becoming more scarce as the drought persists, more turtles are moving upland earlier in the season to estivate (summer dormancy).

People may encounter turtles during these travels and think they are lost or sick, since they are quite some distance from water.

CDFW receives many contacts from well-meaning people who report that they have found and collected what they believe to be a sick turtle, when in reality the turtle was traveling to upland habitat as part of its natural activities.

Western pond turtles are designated as a “species of special concern” in California, “critical” in Oregon, and “endangered” in Washington. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced in April that the species may warrant protection under the federal Endangered Species Act.

The turtles are known to inhabit parts of Lake County, according to wildlife officials.

“Western pond turtles face a number of threats throughout their range,” said Laura Patterson, CDFW’s Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Coordinator. “They are shy animals and sensitive to human disturbance. Anyone who removes a healthy turtle from the wild is potentially compromising its ability to successfully reproduce and survive in the future. In addition, anyone – other than a licensed wildlife rehabilitator – who releases turtles that have been kept in captivity is not only breaking the law but putting the health of wild populations at risk by spreading disease. These actions are almost always unnecessary and often quite counterproductive, so I urge the public to take a hands-off approach to caring for these sensitive, imperiled animals.”

Western pond turtle populations have declined significantly in some parts of the state, especially Southern California, due to habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation.

Predation, competition and diseases from non-native species, including pet turtles released into the wild, have also contributed to declines and localized extinctions.

According to the California Code of Regulations Title 14, section 40, it is illegal to capture, collect, intentionally kill or injure, possess, purchase, propagate, sell, transport, import or export any native reptile or amphibian, or part of one, with very few exceptions.

Native reptiles covered under the law include western pond turtles and desert tortoises.

Once they’ve been in captivity, they may not be returned to the wild without written authorization from CDFW.

It is best to leave all native wildlife alone. If you care, leave them there!

A brochure with more information on western pond turtles and what to do if you find one can be downloaded at http://tinyurl.com/ljy5cmu .

RARE WESTERN POND TURTLES IN E. COUNTY-Animals are part of conservation effort - via Herp Digest

By Karen Pearlman5:05 a.m.Aug. 7, 2014

Five rare Western pond turtles are going to be watched closely in East County for the foreseeable future.

The Western pond turtles, listed as a “Species of Special Concern” by the state, were released July 31 into the Sycuan Peak Ecological Preserve near the Cleveland National Forest.

They are part of the San Diego Zoo’s “headstart” program, which involves raising hatchlings of a large enough size and releasing them into the wild, giving them a better chance of surviving and fending off natural predators.

Since 2009, the zoo has been in a joint program with a team consisting of California Department of Fish & Wildlife, San Diego Association of Governments and the U.S. Geological Survey’s Western Ecological Research Center.

Miniature radio transmitters were fitted on the shells of the five juvenile turtles released to help scientists track their whereabouts, activity levels and to regularly check on the turtles’ growth, physical health and behavior. The transmitters were applied with a silicone sealant that allows the turtles’ shells to grow and expand, even with the transmitter device attached to it.

The team in 2013 released its first group of Western pond turtles — which when hatched are no larger than a quarter. The turtles were raised away from the public at the zoo for a little more than three years before their introduction to the wild.

The Western pond turtles are California’s only native freshwater turtles, and have been around for more than 10,000 years, according to Tommy Owens, senior keeper with the San Diego Zoo’s Department of Herpetology.

Once abundant along the West Coast from Mexico to Canada, they are preyed on by largemouth bass, catfish, bullfrogs, garter snakes, herons and egrets. The shy and protective turtles have also been suffering from habitat loss. A spokesman from the Department of Fish and Wildlife said that a “lucky” pond turtle can live 70 years in the wild.

A 2003 study detected just over 120 Western pond turtles, including only 18 females in five locations in San Diego County. The cool water pond in the reserve where the turtles were released has myriad shady plants and submerged logs as well as insects for the turtles to eat. Because pond turtles are shy, females will not lay eggs if they experience stress of any kind. If they wait too long, the eggs are reabsorbed back into their bodies.

“Along with (the U.S. Geological Survey group) we’re able to monitor these turtles with their radio transmitters and check on them periodically to see how they’re doing,” Owens said. “It’s really important here at the beginning of the release, because the turtles might not stay put and we want to be able to find them easily. Through radio tracking we can see the use of habitat, their behaviors and check on their overall well being.”

The project is testing conservation strategies to help Western pond turtles and other native species, since many California ecosystems are being affected by invasive, nonnative species accidentally or intentionally introduced by humans.

Study dials up western pond turtles – Herp Digest

SF Gate.com, Carolyn Jones, 7/31/13

Turtle No. 13 is pretty much like western pond turtles everywhere. The greenish, speckled reptile likes to wallow in the mud, bask on old logs and munch on dragonfly larvae.

But then there's the 8-inch antenna on her back.

She and each of her 23 cohorts in a secluded Mount Diablo pond are affixed with radio transmitters on their shells so scientists can track their every poky, mud-filled move.

The turtles are oblivious to their high-tech accessory, but the information they provide has given biologists a glimpse into one of the most rare, and mysterious, reptiles.

"This is the holy grail for turtles," said David "Doc Quack" Riensche, an East Bay Regional Park District biologist who's been conducting the study for three years.

"How far do they go? Where do they winter? What kind of vegetation do they like? We're trying to find these answers so we can learn what's the best way to save these guys."

Western pond turtles, the state's only native turtle, are a "species of special concern," according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and are declining rapidly throughout the West. Once common in creeks and ponds in the Bay Area, the distinctive reptile is now fighting for survival.

The main culprits, aside from habitat loss, are nonnative bullfrogs, which eat the turtle eggs, and invasive red-eared slider turtles, which carry diseases and outcompete the western pond turtle for food and shelter.

The result is that few sizable colonies of pond turtles exist. When embarking on his study, Riensche scoured Alameda and Contra Costa counties for the elusive turtle and found almost none.

Then he stumbled across a 1-acre, spring-fed cattle pond in the eastern foothills of Mount Diablo outside Clayton.

There, he found more than 75 western pond turtles frolicking in the muck.

"It was like the Fertile Crescent," he said. "I was ecstatic."

During breeding season, Riensche and a crew of volunteers - including, sometimes, his wife and kids - trek to the pond daily to check on their subjects.

They catch a few turtles to weigh, measure and inspect for raccoon attacks, then they circle the pond with a wire antenna that resembles TV rabbit ears.

The antenna is affixed to a radio frequency tuner, which volunteers can adjust to locate individual turtles. It beeps when it receives a signal.

Fortunately, turtles don't go very far. Most are lounging in the mud or snoozing on a log. But when laying eggs, females can wander 100 yards or so from the pond - a migration that's critical to understanding how the turtle successfully breeds.

With the help of the antennas, scientists have learned the preferred nesting sites are sunny areas with grass about 1 1/2 feet high covering about 85 percent of the ground. There, the female turtle digs a small hole, deposits her eggs, buries them and lets them incubate in the warmth for two months or so.

Scientists also learned that turtles hibernate underwater for several months in the winter, clustered in the shallow end of the pond.

The information Riensche and his crew gather is sent to state Fish and Wildlife scientists, who use it to create a conservation plan.

Turtle tracking is not for the impatient. Volunteers spend many long hours by the pond with the antenna, waiting for one of nature's more relaxed creatures to do something interesting.

Maggie Clark, a bookkeeper from Lafayette, said she doesn't mind. In fact, it's sort of soothing, she said.

"Any little part I can do," she said. "This is a huge metropolitan area, and I think it's important we try to save as much as we can."

Richard Kaufmann of Oakland, a retired Lake Merritt naturalist, said he considers turtle tracking "payback."

"If you look at all the resources people have taken from the planet - wildlife has had to adapt. Some have, and some are having a harder time," he said. "I see this as a little return for what we've taken."

Turtle study

To volunteer on the western pond turtle study, e-mail David Riensche at docquack@ebparks or call (510) 544-2319. For more information, go to www.ebparks.org/getinvolved/volunteer/quack#how.