WA Department of Fish & Wildlife and the Woodland Park Zoo release baby turtles near Lakewood

LAKEWOOD, Wash. — Earlier this month, the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife (WDFW) and the Woodland Park Zoo got together to release around 40 juvenile northwestern pond turtles into the wild near Lakewood.

According to the WDFW, the release site will allow the turtles to enjoy ‘turtle things’ in a protected ecosystem, such as basking on logs, munching on grasshoppers, swimming around, and hanging out with the hundreds of other turtles that call this area home.

The northwestern pond turtle is state-endangered, prompting WDFW and the Zoo to emphasize reestablishing healthy populations.

In the 1990s, only two populations of northwestern pond turtles remained in the Columbia River Gorge, with estimates of less than 200 individuals. According to WDFW, because of recovery efforts, there are currently six populations with approximately 800 turtles, but many issues remain.

WDFW and the Zoo have been working together to trap hatchling turtles and then raise them in state-of-the-art turtle-rearing facilities at the Woodland Park Zoo, where they are safe from carnivores and other environmental threats.

The two organizations then release the captive-raised turtles at roughly a year old, when they are large enough to survive most of the threats and dangers they might encounter in the wild. WDFW highlighted one of the main threats these turtles face:

One of the major threats to young northwestern pond turtles are invasive American bullfrogs, which can decimate pond turtle populations by preying upon hatchlings. The turtles released this month grew up at the zoo until they were larger than an adult bullfrog’s mouth, greatly increasing their chances of survival and eventual reproduction in the wild.

To learn more about northwestern pond turtles and the ongoing efforts to recover them, visit the WDFW website.

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