Turtles Found Buried in Mud Are Back in Their Wetland Home

Thirteen turtles that were rescued from a dried-out wetland in New South Wales, Australia, have been returned to their natural home. The turtles were found buried deep in the mud after the water in their habitat disappeared earlier this year. They spent months recovering at a zoo before being healthy enough to go back. It is a hopeful sign for the future of turtles in the region.

The turtles were released at a place called Gingham Waterhole, which is part of the Gwydir Wetlands in north-west New South Wales. Ten broad-shelled turtles and three Murray River turtles were set free in September by a team from the New South Wales Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. In all, 39 turtles had been rescued from the waterhole when it dried out in April. All of them were taken to Taronga Western Plains Zoo in the city of Dubbo so they could be looked after.

Senior zookeeper James Witcombe said it was a powerful moment to watch the first turtles go back to the water. He described seeing photos of the wetland full of water again, with small creatures called invertebrates returning to the area. For him and his team, watching the turtles return after months of hard work was a truly special experience.

When the turtles first arrived at the zoo, they were covered in thick, heavy mud. The keepers quickly set up a kind of cleaning station — almost like an assembly line — to wash each turtle and identify it. They also adapted a building that was originally designed for platypus conservation to house the turtles instead. Vets and keepers then gave every turtle a full health check to see how it was doing.

Over the following months, the team carefully monitored the turtles' recovery. They weighed the animals regularly and made sure they had plenty of food to help them get stronger after the stress of living in a drying wetland. When the turtles were healthy enough, keepers lowered the water temperature to copy the conditions of winter. They also set up UV lamps and basking areas so the turtles could get the light they needed.

One big surprise came during the early health checks — 14 of the female broad-shelled turtles were carrying eggs. Because these turtles normally lay their eggs when it is raining, the keepers had to help the process along by inducing egg-laying. Now more than 250 turtle eggs are sitting in an incubator at the Dubbo zoo. Mr. Witcombe said he expects a large percentage of those eggs to hatch successfully.

The hatchlings will be important for the turtle population at Gingham Waterhole. Foxes and other feral animals are known to dig up turtle nests in that area, so many eggs laid in the wild never survive. Having hatchlings raised safely at the zoo gives them a much better chance. The young turtles are expected to be released into the wild by the end of next year.

Back at the wetland, things are looking much better than they were. Environmental water flows — water that is deliberately sent to help nature — were suspended earlier in the year because of worries about flooding nearby private land. Those flows started again in late May, and Gingham Waterhole filled back up with water. That allowed the staged release of the turtles to begin.

Ingrid Emery, an executive director at the New South Wales environment department, said the turtles are being released gradually as conditions improve. She added that the department is working with local landowners and an advisory group to plan how water will be managed in the future. Ms. Emery said they want to use environmental water carefully to protect important habitats, especially as a dry period is expected ahead. While the released turtles will not be tracked one by one, ongoing monitoring of the wetland will help the team keep the ecosystem healthy for years to come.