Woodland Park Invites Public To See the Juvenile Turtles Prepared for the Wild

The Western Pond Turtle is being assisted by Woodland Park Zoo and other organizations to restore their population. Photo by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for WPZ

On July 28^th, from 9:30a – 1p, in honor of the 30^th Anniversary for the Western Pond Turtle Recovery Project, Woodland Park Zoo has invited the public, for the first-time, to see its animal management staff and representatives from the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife as they prepare juvenile western pond turtles for release into the wild.

The endangered western pond turtles (Actinemys marmorata) are part of one of the many conservation projects undertaken at Woodland Park. The Zoo receives turtle eggs, collected from the wild, and raises them in a protected setting. Raised this way, the turtles mature into larger and healthier specimen – and less vulnerable to non-native bullfrogs. At this time, the juvenile turtles are weighed, measured and marked for identification before Woodland Park Zoo staff and volunteers release them in a protected wetlands site.

The Turtles will be weighed and measured to ensure they are large enough to protect themselves in the wild. Photo by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for WPZ

The annual preparation of the turtles is usually done in an area out of view of the public, where the turtles are raised. This year, turtle fans can watch biologists prepare the turtles, in the Woodland Park Chicken Barn, located in the Family Farm.

In 1990, only about 150 western pond turtles remained, in two populations in the State of Washington. The head start Western Pond Turtle Recovery Project began in 1991, and collaborative efforts have resulted in more than 2,300 turtles being head-started and self-sustaining populations being re-established. Surveys indicate that approximately 800 of the released turtles have survived and continue to thrive at six sites.

A Western Pond Turtle being marked for identification before being released in the wild. Photo by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for WPZ

All year long, the Woodland Park Zoo helps save animals and their habitats through more than 35 wildlife conservation projects. Accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums, and certified by the rigorous American Humane Conservation program, the Woodland Park Zoo works to educate and engage more than a million visitors on the creatures that live and thrive here. Learn more about the Zoo on its website (click here,) or stop by from 9:30a to 6p during the summer for an in-person, safe, outdoor experience.