2022 MARY VALLEY VOICE - FEBRUARY 9, Vol.32 #02

HATCHLINGS RELEASED BACK

Thanks to that iconic photo (see page 7 this issue) taken near Kenilworth by Chris van Wyk left during the Traveston Dam campaign, the Mary River Turtle has become something of a flagship species for the river, playing a key role in the river ecosystem. It’s only one of six species of turtle that live in the Mary, and its adults are so distinctive that it seems scarcely credible that they weren’t recognised as a distinct and separate species until 1994. The Mary River Turtle (Elusor macrurus, which means an elusive turtle with a big tale) is listed as endangered under both state and federal legislation and occurs naturally only in the Mary catchment. Another of Mary’s turtles, the White-throated Snapping Turtle is listed as critically endangered but it’s not unique to the Mary, being found also in a couple of other Queensland rivers. A number of recent studies have suggested that the Kenilworth area (both the Mary River itself and its major tributary Obi Obi Creek) is something of a “hotspot” for Mary River turtles. Last month’s Mary Valley Voice had a detailed article on the turtles and this was followed by a joyous sequel a week or two back. Mary River Turtles lay their eggs often on loose sand banks near to the river, and sometimes not all that far from the water. MRCCC, the Mary River Catchment Coordinating Committee, thanks to support from Seqwater, has been conducting nest monitoring and protection in the Kenilworth reach for the past couple of years, and late last year, Kath Nash and her team found a nest that had been laid quite close to water in sand that would readily be washed away during flooding. The eggs were carefully excavated and moved to a predator proof cage at Moy Pocket, a fortunate relocation as the site was inundated both in December and again from ex-tropical cyclone Seth. The average incubation time is 55 days but this year had seen some clutches around Tiaro taking around 70 days to emerge, but as that milestone came and went, things weren’t looking terribly promising for the relocated eggs. υ Then on day 76, as hopes were fading, 14 of the 16 eggs hatched and broke through to the surface. After being measured and weighed, the hatchlings were released back at their original nest site near Kenilworth. The release was attended by local River Stewards, including dairy farmers and graziers from around Kenilworth pictured above and the hatchlings even became media celebrities as ABC Rural reporter Jennifer Nichols was on hand to record the event. The hatchlings were placed on the sand to make their own way to the water, a perilous path for a tiny turtle not much bigger than a teaspoon, and probably why some turtles lay quite close to the water. They instinctively, if not exactly instantaneously, headed for the water and, once immersed, proved to be capable swimmers. Young hatchlings can stay underwater for a couple of days for, although breathing at the surface, they can also extract oxygen from the water through a gill-like structure in their tail, helping them avoid being eaten. No one knows for sure how long Mary River Turtles can live for, some say maybe 80 years or more. There’s no doubt that all those well-wishers, on the sand bar at Kenilworth, wished those minute hatchlings live to a ripe old age, and even find themselves adorned with the odd growth of algae which, thanks to Chris’ internationally-circulated photograph, has earned them the nickname “the punk turtle”. Ian Mackay, MRCCC chairman.