TURTLE populations are dwindling while dangers thrive. In the wild, there are low numbers of juvenile turtles, indicating that once mature turtles reach their lifespan, numbers in Australia will plummet.
Yvette Williams is an agricultural scientist and a member of the Cussen Park Advisory Committee. She started Tatura Turtles two years ago to raise awareness for freshwater turtles who share our community.
“Foxes are diabolical. One fox can kill several turtle nests and there’s an indication that foxes teach their young how to extract turtles from nests” Yvette said. “If lots of eggs are laid, more foxes are attracted to the area.”
The growing use of mesh over nests has helped deter predators from destroying turtle nests, however, cars and drying habitats are still impacting turtle numbers.
“There’s the chance that hatchlings can become entombed in their nests. This is where the ground is so dry that they cannot physically come out of the ground.”
Turtles lay eggs in nests in the ground in November and December, and the eggs hatch around March. The first year, volunteers protected one nest. This year, they are protecting eight and volunteers like Yvette have seen dozens of hatchlings survive and be released into local waterways.
“We’re always learning new things and better ways to help,” Yvette said. “If we’re not helping baby turtles into the environment safely and taking notice of our local turtles, we risk losing another important species.”
Turtle Survey and Analysis Tools (TurtleSAT) run a ‘1 Million Turtles’ community conservation program, which rely on citizen scientists to help record turtle sightings to monitor declining populations.
There are heaps of ways you can get involved to help local animals. Visit www.turtlesat.org.au for more or follow Tatura Turtles on Facebook for local resources or to volunteer.
