Rare turtles were born at the San Diego Zoo

The San Diego Zoo became the first in North America to breed endangered Indian narrow-headed softshell turtles (Chitra indica). As reported, decades of painstaking work have been crowned with success – recently 41 turtles hatched in the zoo.

The San Diego Zoo first acquired two young turtles in 1997. After discovering they were two females, the zoo acquired a male a few years later.

The acquisition was made against the background of concern over the decline in the number of Asian turtles, which are threatened by environmental degradation, river water pollution, and illegal animal trade.

The zoo has set itself the goal of breeding Indian narrow-headed turtles and obtaining new information about the species in order to contribute to its conservation efforts. As the turtles matured, zoo staff watched them closely and hoped they would produce offspring.

“All we could do was make their environment as natural and comfortable as possible. And just keep your fingers crossed,” says Kim Gray, curator of the Department of Herpetology and Ichthyology.

All the babies are doing well now. At birth, they weighed 8-10 g and fit in the palm of the hand.

Once the hatchlings are bigger, the zoo plans to donate about half of them to other zoos and aquariums interested in having them in their collections.

Indian narrow-headed softshell turtles live in deep rivers and streams in northern India, Bangladesh and Nepal. Adults of this species can weigh up to 440 pounds and lay up to 190 eggs in a clutch. Researchers believe that they can live 100 years or more in the wild.

The species has been on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red list of threatened species since 2000. Sand mining and polluted river water threaten the environment of turtles. In addition, the demand for the eggs and meat of these reptiles poses a threat.

Breeding success will provide important information about turtle care and breeding to other zoos. Public awareness of the threat to turtles in the wild will also increase.

We reported previously on a trio of fossa babies at Chester Zoo.