Into the wild 🐢
This year, your Toronto Zoo is celebrating our 50th anniversary, and it is a time to reflect upon 50 years of conservation science contributions, celebrating what we’ve done so far and thinking about what we hope to achieve in the future. The importance of our contributions to save wild species and wild spaces was felt yesterday as we released juvenile Blanding’s turtles into Rouge National Urban Park for the 11th year! This collaborative initiative, co-led by your Toronto Zoo’s
Adopt A Pond Wetland Conservation Program and Parks Canada, is part of recovery efforts to conserve this endangered species in the Greater Toronto Area. This year, the team released 61 two-year-olds, bringing the total number of Blanding’s turtles released to over 700.
What is the Blanding’s Turtle Headstarting and Reintroduction Program, and why is it important? 🐢
The Rouge River watershed has changed drastically over the past 200 years, and this has had major consequences for the animals that live there. Historically, this area was home to the Blanding’s turtle, which is currently a federally endangered species. In the 1990s, fewer than 10 adult Blanding’s turtles were found in the area that is now Rouge National Urban Park, which is not nearly enough to support a healthy population. As a result, our headstart program began.
The Blanding’s turtles released through this program each year are two-year-olds, to ensure they are big and strong enough to thrive in their new environment. Each June, eggs are collected from stable source populations in Ontario, and are then incubated for around two months to ensure proper development, and to keep them safe from predators at such a vulnerable stage. Once they hatch, these tiny turtles spend their first year in the Americas Pavilion where guests can visit them, and after their first birthday, they move to the Wildlife Healthcare Centre to spend their days swimming and sunning themselves under UV lights. Once they reach two years of age, the turtles move to the Wildlife Health Centre’s outdoor enclosures to acclimate to the elements, like daily weather changes, sounds, and sights, to prepare them for release. The release takes place in different locations each year and is kept top-secret to mitigate the threat of poaching.
How are the turtles monitored in the wild? 🐢
One of the most important aspects of this process is being able to keep tabs on what happens to these juveniles once they leave the Toronto Zoo’s care. Some of the turtles are fitted with small radio transmitters which attach to their shells and allow researchers to monitor their locations, as well as movement patterns, habitat use and behaviour over time. This not only allows scientists to monitor their survival, but also provides invaluable information about their growth rates and how environmental factors like temperature and precipitation play a role in their behaviour.
This is critical information for land managers, so they can restore suitable wetland areas where aquatic animals can thrive. Parks Canada has been working with partners to maintain and restore wetlands throughout Rouge National Urban Park, with the long-term ecological goal of building an interconnected “string of pearls” of wetlands for wildlife like Blanding’s turtles to use.
To support Blanding’s turtles and other wildlife conservation work at your Toronto Zoo, visit Toronto Zoo Wildlife Conservancy and donate today: www.wildlifeconservancy.ca/give 🐢