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One wee turtle at a time T
he endangered Western painted turtle is the last native freshwater turtle living in B.C., and the largest known population resides at Burnaby Lake. Reporter Jennifer Moreau visits with three women who watch over the city’s protected species.
INTO THE WILD They were the last of the wee ones. On Tuesday, three biologists released the four remaining Western ON MY BEAT painted turtles into Jennifer Moreau Burnaby Lake after the reptiles were rescued from their nesting beach following the CN coal spill in the spring. The baby turtles were dug up from the sand, some as tiny as a fingertip, and raised in government care till they were large enough not to be swallowed by invasive bullfrogs. Each has a small radio transmitter attached to its shell, so the team can track its movements. Government biologist Kym Welstead is joined by Aimee Mitchell from the Coastal Painted Turtle Project, and Deanna MacTavish, an SFU student doing her master’s project on the turtles. Welstead has brought her young daughter to help gingerly place the turtles back in the water along the shoreline. The reptiles take to the water quickly but linger a while before disappearing beneath the lily pads. “It’s really nice to bring them back. It also gives you a lot more confidence in their survivorship,” says Welstead. “I think they love it. It’s unlimited food for them till the winter comes.”
Jennifer Gauthier/burnaby now
ONLY TWO NESTING SITES The Western painted turtle is listed as endangered – just one step away from extinction in Canada. Welstead estimates the overall Burnaby Lake population is now at 150, but she would like to see it grow to 300 or 400. There are Western painted turtles at Deer Lake, as well, and they travel along Deer Lake Brook, the one-kilometre waterway connecting to the two lakes. Burnaby Lake is home to one of two known nesting sites. Welstead won’t disclose the location of the second – all she will say is it’s in the Fraser Valley. “People poach,” she says. “We’ve had poachers at Deer Lake.” The turtles face numerous threats: road deaths, trapping, natural predators, and illnesses brought in by other invasive species.
Home at last:
Above, Deanna MacTavish releases one of the Western painted turtles rescued after the January CN coal spill. At left, the larger turtle came from eggs laid in 2013, while the smaller one hatched in 2014. For more photos and a video, scan with Layar or got to www. burnabynow. com
Turtles Page 4
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