Now Reading: Turtle missing for 12 years reappears, lays eggs, daughters released
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Turtle missing for 12 years reappears, lays eggs, daughters released
Turtle missing for 12 years reappears, lays eggs, daughters released
A Blanding's turtle named Ivy, released as a seven-gram hatchling into a Massachusetts marsh in 2011, vanished for over a decade before reappearing during a routine survey in 2023 as a full-grown adult. In June 2025, she laid eight eggs at Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, seven hatched.
The hatchlings were raised through Zoo New England's HATCH programme, where schoolchildren cared for them over winter. On June 25, 2026, two of Ivy's daughters were released into the same landscape, marking the first confirmed second-generation offspring from the Great Meadows conservation programme that began in 2003.
Conservationists say headstarted Blanding's turtles are estimated to be 40 times more likely to survive to adulthood than those left entirely in the wild. The milestone proves that at least one programme-released turtle has survived, matured and produced offspring of her own.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The Blanding's turtle is listed as threatened under the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act. Headstarting, where hatchlings are raised in captivity through their first winter, is used globally for species like sea turtles and gharials to boost survival rates. The 40-times survival advantage cited here is specific to this programme. The next test will be whether Ivy's daughters themselves survive to nest, proving the population can sustain itself without continued releases. The next survey season at Great Meadows begins in spring 2027.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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