KGW-TV (Portland, Oregon) 19 December 05 Rare baby turtle delivered at Newport aquarium (Kristina Brenneman)
Photo at URL below: A baby joins a Vietnamese Leaf turtle family on display at the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport.
Newport, Oregon: The surprise delivery of a rare Vietnamese leaf turtle has boosted its endangered-species population by one.
The baby turtle, hatched at the Oregon Coast Aquarium after 108 days gestation, is barely bigger than a quarter. Its caramel color and jagged-edge shell gives it camouflage in the woods.
The turtle will go on display this week – along with its parents -- in the aquarium’s current exhibit, “Turtle Trek; A Journey of Survival." The turtle family will remain there until the exhibit ends in May 2006.
Because turtle and tortoise habitats are disappearing worldwide at an alarming rate, the aquarium’s exhibit focuses on ways people can help protect them.
"I did my best to replicate this turtle's native habitat, Halong Bay, Vietnam," said aquarist Evonne Mochon-Collura, who cares for the Vietnamese leaf turtles. "This particular pair, the male and female are from a private collection, and we were told she was very old, so we assumed there was no chance for her to lay eggs. This was a complete surprise!"
Mochon-Collura noticed the female turtle had stopped eating and had propped herself up against the edge of her tank for four days straight. She began to watch her carefully because unusual behaviors could indicate changes in health.
"I was concerned because we had ruled out the possibility that she might lay eggs," said Mochon-Collura. That was until the morning of Aug. 14 when Mochon-Collura came in to work and found three eggs sitting in the turtle's tank. She removed them to protect them and began incubation. As it turned out, only one of the three eggs was fertilized; the other two contained yolk and fluid.
Mochon-Collura found an internet group which specializes in this turtle species, so she was able to learn about incubating the eggs and caring for the baby turtle after it hatched. She began candling it , or shing an LED light to it, every 10 days after 60 days of incubation to monitor its growth.
"I was so excited to see the turtle's silhouette move -- it was just amazing!" said Mochon-Collura, who also teaches biology at OCCC. She said the embryo was just a dense spot at first, but as time went on she watched formation of its body and eyes. Incubation took 108 days. "I went in to check on it on the 108th day and saw a head peeking out of the egg!" She said it stayed there for most of the day but then it finally walked out that night, with the yolk-sac still attached. The yolk continues to nourish the baby for a few weeks after hatching.
The baby had its first meal at 13 days old.
"We put a tiny cricket in its water dish and it saw the movement and went for it." Mochon-Collura said. The owner of the Vietnamese leaf turtle has another pair of turtles that has reproduced in captivity, but the female on loan to the aquarium hadn't produced eggs until now.
"It's unusual for this species to lay more than two eggs at a time and these were larger than normal as well, so we think she must be very content in her habitat we created for her here. It was incredible how the baby turtle just knew what to do after barely a day," said Mochon-Collura, who cites this as one of the best experiences of her life. "It has been very active, alert and strong. When it wrapped its claw around my finger I couldn't believe how strong it was!"
THE OREGONIAN (Portland, Oregon) 21 December 05 Biologist discovers a thing or two about raising a rare turtle (Richard L. Hill)
The marine biologist had a surprise -- three fragile turtle eggs -- awaiting her when she arrived for work at the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport. Not ordinary turtle eggs, but from an endangered Vietnamese leaf turtle.
After the jolting discovery four months ago, Evonne Mochon-Collura immediately went into action, placing the eggs in a heated area to incubate. Two of the eggs proved infertile, but on Nov. 27, a tiny turtle emerged from its shell.
Under her care -- turtle parents don't tend to their offspring -- the baby is thriving on a diet of small crickets and fruit. It has grown to more than an inch long, about one-fifth of an adult's length.
"I was surprised when I saw the eggs in the turtle tank," said Mochon-Collura, who cares for an adult pair of Vietnamese leaf turtles on loan to the aquarium's "Turtle Trek" exhibit. "We thought the female was too old to have eggs, so we were amazed and delighted."
And perhaps a bit anxious, as delivering turtle babies isn't something Mochon-Collura learned in her college marine-biology classes. She began a crash course in how to care for the eggs, gathering information from the leaf turtles' owner in Tulsa, Okla., and from zoos that have the rare reptiles.
She also received critical advice via e-mail from turtle experts in France and Hong Kong. "I stumbled across this Internet group of people who raise these turtles," Mochon-Collura said. "They shared all their information with me and gave me lots of tips about incubation.
"It was nice to know there are so many people who care about saving these animals."
The Vietnamese leaf turtle, Geoemyda spengleri, is one of the world's smallest turtles, seldom exceeding 5.5 inches in length. The turtles are found near springs and streams at higher elevations in northern Vietnam's limestone mountains and in southern China.
Although their jagged shells help protect them from predators, their numbers are rapidly diminishing in the wild because humans collect them for food and the pet trade.
"There are a lot of questions about their life spans and how fast they reach maturity, so this baby may have a few things to teach us," said Mochon-Collura, who has a master's degree in marine biology from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.
In the days before the eggs' appearance in mid-August, Mochon-Collura noticed the female had stopped eating and had propped itself against the edge of its tank. She kept a close watch on the turtle, concerned that it was having health problems.
"Now I know what to look for," Mochon-Collura said. "And there's signs she may be having more eggs soon. This time I'll know precisely what to do. This has been an amazing experience."
The Vietnamese leaf turtles are part of the Oregon Coast Aquarium's "Turtle Trek" exhibit, which ends in May. For more information, go to www.aquarium.org.
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Rare baby turtle delivered at Newport aquarium
