Starting a Turtle Inventory
We have decided to start doing the inventory of the Mediterranean Pond Turtles of our land. Lately we have noticed many young turtles, very small ones measuring around 5cm. One day, as we were paddling on the pond, we saw one that looked very yellow, so we wondered if it could have been a Red-Eared Slider, an invasive species apparently threatening the native species survival. We succeeded in picking it up. Later that same day, we saw many other young turtles on the bank of the pond. Our boys went on the quest to see and catch as many turtles as possible. They ended up with 10. Looking at them closely, we were not sure which species it was. If they are the invsaive species, catching them is a great idea, and we would not have released them in the wild. We would have had to figure out how to give them to a specialized center, or build our own fenced turtle pond to let them have a good life while not being a risk for the native species. So we had to do some research. We both looked online and in our book “Le guide herpéto - Amphibiens et reptiles d’Europe”. It turns out this young turtle is a Mediterrranean Pond Turtle, also called Iberian Pond Turtle. It is a native species here in Portugal. Fantastic news! After observing them closely for a moment, the boys released them in our pond. What a beautiful way to spend your weekend.
The next day, they were curious to see if they could see some again. They went on the paddle board and floated along the bank, looking for their turtle friends. They caught one, and when they show it to us, it gave us the idea to start our own scientific research project : a Turtle Inventory!
Of course, as we are not scientists, our approach and method is probably not best practice, but we do our best. This project is a fantastic way to get our boys and ourselves to learn about our wild turtles, to be curious, to get excited wildlife, to connect deeper with nature.
So here it is, find below the ongoing inventory of the wild Mediterranean Pond Turtles of our pond. Names have been given by the boys :)
