Abandoned pets, vanishing habitat threaten native turtles
CBC News | Posted: July 30, 2017 5:00 PM | Last Updated: July 31, 2017
Habitat Aquisition Trust is urging people to stop turning aquarium turtles loose
Abandoned aquarium pets are threatening the survival of an endangered native turtle species on southern Vancouver Island.
Alanah Nasadyk, the community and development coordinator for Habitat Acquisition Trust, said the group is worried about the future of western painted turtles as the competition intensifies for food and habitat.
The "invaders" as Nasadyk describes them, are red-eared sliders, which are frequently released into lakes and streams where they grow to more than 30 centimetres.
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"They are not only being dropped off as abandoned pets but they are also able to reproduce here in our colder northern climate," Nasadyk said.
The first evidence of red-eared sliders reproducing in southern British Columbia was confirmed in Delta two years ago, confirming the conservationist's "greatest fear," she said.
Aside from competing for food, nesting and basking sites, the red-eared sliders carry and transmit diseases including respiratory illness and salmonella.
Red-eared sliders are among the 100 worst invaders recognized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Basking in Beacon Hill Park
Nasadyk said it is easy to spot the non-native species. In Victoria's Beacon Hill Park, they can often be seen lined up and basking on a log.
"We really encourage people, if they can't take care of their pets any more, find a new home for them or just surrender them to a refuge," she said.
Meanwhile, the endangered freshwater turtles are competing with the invaders for a share of a shrinking habitat, as 80 per cent of the wetlands in the Victoria region have disappeared and nesting beaches are disturbed by dogs and human traffic.