News / Animals
Black marsh turtle hatches at Bristol Zoo
A vulnerable turtle species has been successfully bred at Bristol Zoo for the first time in a decade. The tiny black marsh turtle spent three months in an incubator, being kept at a pleasant 27C despite plummeting temperatures outside, before emerging from its shell to the delight of keepers.
The jet-black turtle is currently 5cm long and weighs just 22 grams, but can reach 20cm when fully grown. This type of turtle is endemic to south east Asia, and lives in freshwater pools with heavy vegetation.
The turtle is descended from a group of 10,000 rescued turtles that were confiscated from a ship in Hong Kong in 2001. They would have entered the illegal Chinese food chain and been killed, but Bristol Zoo was involved in a rescue effort, nursing the turtles back to health and bringing some of them to Bristol.
is needed now More than ever
Adam Davis, senior keeper of reptiles at Bristol Zoo, said: “It is doing really well. These turtles are listed as vulnerable and are part of a European breeding programme.”
Bristol Zoo is home to seven other species of turtle, all of which are endangered or critically endangered.
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