March Blur

These last two weeks have passed by in a blur. The centre has an official opening date – March 31^st! As a result we’ve been digging soil to fill up the tanks and to level the rehabilitation area.

Additionally, painting inside the centre has been completed and posters have finalised and for the most part been displayed in their appropriate places.

Last week was exhilarating and full of surprises, after a month of no terrapins we recaptured one of our first Black Mud Turtles and a security guard brought us another one later on in the day. On top of that, on Thursday we pulled out a trap to find no one, but TWO Yellow-Bellied Mud Turtles! This was the first Yellow-Bellied capture we’ve had in three months, and we are happy to report that both individuals had never been captured before.

One of the individuals was very large, similar in size to our very own Stumpy and we think he is a male, our first one so far. However, despite the similar size, the terrapin was over 50g lighter than Stumpy and his shell is concave so we think he could be underweight. Haze (as he has now been named due to his distinctive colouring) has been kept for observation.

Project, our baby terrapin is doing well and has been moved to a larger tank all by himself. Despite a scratch on his head and missing 3 claws he is feeding well and managing to catch the smaller fish in his tank. This gives us great hopes for his survival after his eventual release into the wetland.

Turtle season has come to a close and activity has quietened down. We’re only waiting on a few more nests to hatch and then Turtle Patrol here will be less frequent. Read our blog next week to find out about last-minute preparations for the centre opening!