When our partners at Hudson River Park’s River Project reached out on a sunny July afternoon informing us that they found what may be a mud turtle in the park near some rocks asking for help to identify it and what to do with it, we knew that we needed to step in.
Don’t get us wrong - it is not part of our mission to actively help re-home abandoned animals. We sadly get hundreds of calls for help each week from members of the public, asking us what can be done with a pet turtle which has “outgrown” its host family’s willingness to provide shelter. Our repeated answer is sadly to contact the overworked local department of U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Humane Society, or county animal shelter and seek help there.
The harsh reality is however, that most unwanted animals simply get thrown into a local waterbody and only very few survive, which in turn can (unwillingly) cause greatest harm to local species of animal. (Some of these animals cannot even swim, and if so, they can only in fresh or salt water and often get released into the wrong type of water – a cruel death!)
Imagine a gorilla being set free in your local park (and we do not mean a park in The Congo). It would not be able to survive without adequate food and shelter ,being forced to live in a most unsuitable climate, would lead a miserable life and surely pass away miserably.
That is exactly the same destiny our little mud turtle was facing when released into the Hudson River: she would not survive the New York City winter.
Given that there are over 330 species of turtle on this continent, it can be very difficult to identify some species and only a few experts are able to do this.
Added to that, mud turtles are among the most difficult species of turtle to identify from photographs alone.
Within the hour, the photo of the mud turtle was forwarded to four world leading conservationists and turtle experts, all part of the Turtle Conservancy family: Founding and Advisory Board Member Maurice Rodriguez, Board Member Professor Dr Craig Stanford, our Field Conservation Programs Director and Senior Director (Wildlife Trade) at Re:Wild Peter Paul van Dijk and Advisory Board member John Iverson Ph.D ( aka the ‘world’s best mud turtle person’ as described by Peter Paul).
After a five minute debate by text message, it was clear that the animal was a Scorpion Mud Turtle from Central America (Kinosternon scorpioides cruentatum).
Scorpion Mud Turtles are native to the tropical climates of Central and South America and the little one would have had to endure a miserable death out in the New York Hudson once summer turned to fall and winter.
What happened next was that our NYC based Chiara Gorodesky dashed up to Hudson River Park’s Pier 40 Wet Lab, picked up our little friend and then driving her (turned out that she was indeed a female) all the way up to The Bronx handing her over safely to Maurice who was on the go at the time in his Chelonian Rescue Mobile.
Confirming the animal’s new whereabouts and exact identification with the Regional Wildlife Manager of New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, this lucky turtle has found a new and relatively safe home in adapted artificial habitat in New York.
The moral of this turtle rescue story is that it takes many leading and very knowledgeable wildlife conservationists, animal lovers and people who go out of their way to help make one turtle’s life better.
Even if you mean well, please never remove any animal from the wild and do not release one that came into your possession into any local park or body of water.
There will be people who can help you and the animal; all it takes is some asking and arranging.
Contact us at info@turtleconservancy.org with any questions and go visit our partners at The Wetlab at Pier 40 to find out what animals really belong in the Hudson River.