Rescued turtles return to refilled Gwydir wetland
The first 13 turtles have been released at Gingham Waterhole, while a Dubbo zoo is incubating more than 250 eggs laid during their care.
Turtles rescued when a wetland near Moree dried out have begun returning to the wild. In September, the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) released 10 broad-shelled turtles and three of the Murray River species into Gingham Waterhole.
The group was part of a rescue involving 39 turtles in April. Found buried in mud, they were moved to Dubbo’s Taronga Western Plains Zoo for treatment. Environmental water deliveries restarted in late May, replenishing the waterhole in the Gwydir Wetlands.
Zoo senior keeper James Witcombe said staff cleaned and assessed the animals, adapting the platypus conservation centre to house them. Their care included regular weight checks and feeding, followed by cooler water to simulate winter, UV lighting and places to bask.
Assessments found that 14 broad-shelled females had eggs. Keepers induced them to lay, and the zoo is now incubating more than 250 eggs. Witcombe said he expected a large proportion to hatch. Foxes and other feral animals are known to excavate turtle nests at the waterhole.
DCCEEW conservation programs executive director Ingrid Emery said further releases would depend on the turtles’ health and wetland conditions. She said the department was consulting landholders and an environmental water advisory group about future deliveries, after earlier flows were suspended over concerns about flooding neighbouring private property.
Individual released turtles will not be tracked. Emery said ecological monitoring would inform assessments of wetland health and future decisions on water management.
