Distinctive 'Smiling' Turtle Will Become More Common If Zoo Has Its Way
ROYAL OAK – Mr. Blandings built his dream house in the classic movie tale and soon the turtle that bears his name could have a dream home in a Michigan's lake.
The distinctive Blanding's turtle could become a more common sight in Michigan thanks to a conservation effort by the Detroit Zoological Society (DZS).
And if you see one, you'll know it: Found throughout the Midwest, the Blanding's turtle (Emydoidea blandingii) has a black, speckled, high-domed shell that reaches 9-11 inches in length. Its underside and lower jaw are bright yellow, making the reptile easy to recognize. The shape of its jawline causes the Blanding's turtle to look as if it is always smiling.
But the Blanding's turtle is fragile because it travels up to a mile away from its aquatic habitat at the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in Saginaw, Mich., to lay its eggs – making it susceptible to high rates of road mortality – and then leaves the nest vulnerable to predators when it returns to the water.
In an effort to protect the Blanding's turtle nests at the Shiawassee NWR from predation by raccoons, 93 eggs were collected from the nests and incubated for 49-80 days at Herpetological Resource and Management (HRM) near Jackson, Mich. The hatchlings have been divided between the Detroit Zoo and HRM to begin a nurturing process called "head starting".
"This is a good opportunity for us to do local conservation work on a species of special concern in Michigan," said DZS Curator of Reptiles Jeff Jundt. "The incubation and nurturing process will serve as a temporary solution to help the species thrive until its native living conditions at Shiawassee can be stabilized."
The Detroit Zoo is head starting 63 of the hatchlings and will return them to the Shiawassee NWR once they have reached 4 inches in shell length. The turtles are scheduled to be released in the spring of 2013 to the body of water closest to their original nesting site, where they can live to be 50-60 years old.
Celebrating its 100th year, the Detroit Zoological Society is a nonprofit organization that operates the Detroit Zoo and Belle Isle Nature Zoo. The Detroit Zoo is open daily 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. November through March (closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day). Admission is $12 for adults 15 to 61, $10 for senior citizens 62 and older, and $8 for children 2 to 14 (children under 2 are free). The Belle Isle Nature Zoo is open Wednesday through Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. November through March (closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day) and daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April through October. Admission is free. For more information, call 248-541-5717 or visit www.detroitzoo.org.
