Posted on: 2016-07-22 11:49:40
Cropped version of photo by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Illinois ornate box turtles have reason to celebrate!
Just a few weeks ago (in June 2016), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reached its goal of reestablishing a population of 100 ornate box turtles in an Illinois prairie. And they’re 4 years ahead of schedule!
The USFWS, along with 3 Illinois zoos, have been hatching and caring for ornate box turtles since 2009. Each year they send a few more to their new home.
This rather picky turtle prefers to live in a dry, sandy prairie. Unfortunately, that’s something the Prairie State doesn’t have too much of anymore.
And what little remains doesn’t have too many box turtles living in it. That’s why the USFWS decided to hatch some eggs, care for the babies, and release them, hoping they would survive and breed themselves.
It might be working.
Illinois Prairies
Once upon a time most of Illinois was covered in prairie. Some parts of the state were 90% prairie.
Today only about 1% of the state’s prairies remain.
Most in small patches.
The biggest remaining sand prairie is the 4,000-acre Lost Mound Sand Prairie in Savanna, Illinois. That’s where the new ornate boxie population is.
You’d think this large area would already have a lot of natural wildlife, including box turtles. You’d be wrong.
You see, for decades it was the Savanna Army Depot. All the military activity made it hard for turtles to survive, and most didn’t.
The USFWS found 3 (that’s right: 3) ornate box turtles when they surveyed the area at the beginning of the project.
Now there’s at least 100.
The Illinois Ornate Box Turtle Reintroduction Project
In 2009 the USFWS gave the Naibi Zoo in Coal Valley four precious eggs to hatch. All 4 hatched successfully and the little turtles lived at the zoo for about a year before being released into a 20-acre fenced area at Lost Mound.
Since then two Chicago area zoos—Lincoln Park and Brookfield—joined the project. Together the 3 zoos have hatched and cared for almost 100 ornate box turtles for release.
As with the first 4, the turtles live at the zoo for about a year, getting big and strong.
In Illinois ornate box turtles (and any box turtles) in the wild have to hibernate each winter. It’s just too cold for them to survive otherwise. But at the zoo they can stay awake and eat and grow.
By the time they’re released they’re bigger than typical year-old box turtles. Which may make it easier to survive.
The final 15 ornate box turtles left their zoo home for their new prairie home this past June.
USFWS has also relocated a few adults found nearby to the fenced area, making a total of 100 turtles.
Some of the turtles carry radio transmitters attached to their shells. This will help USFWS track them and study their habits.
Hopefully these guys (and girls!) will settle in, establish nesting areas, and help repopulate Illinois with beautiful, fascinating ornate box turtles.
Read More
Check out these stories about this project:
Read about the hatching of the last set of 26 ornate box turtle eggs in September 2015. ZooBorns also covered the event, with more pictures and a video.
Read Lincoln Park Zoo’s story on the most recent release. There’s also a short video and pictures of the turtles. You can also see the transmitters attached to some of the turtles.