Zoo project releases hundreds of endangered baby turtles
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
We need your support!
Local journalism needs your support!
As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed.
Now, more than ever, we need your support.
Starting at $15.99 plus taxes every four weeks you can access your Brandon Sun online and full access to all content as it appears on our website.
Subscribe Nowor call circulation directly at (204) 727-0527.
Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community!
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Brandon Sun access to your Free Press subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $20.00 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.00 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/07/2025 (252 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
VANCOUVER – It’s been a bumper year for the Greater Vancouver Zoo’s project to help save the endangered western painted turtle, which is the only native freshwater turtle in British Columbia.
The zoo’s director of animal care Menita Prasad says it released more than 550 baby turtles in the past year after incubating eggs gathered from the wild to give them the best chance for survival.
But there’s still a long way to go for the decade long-project to boost the number of turtles, which are listed as an endangered by the federal government and red-listed in B-C, meaning they face the highest risk of extinction.
Prasad says the turtles face human and natural predators, plus competition from the invasive red-eared sliders, a turtle that is larger and is popular in the pet trade.
The zoo collects the eggs in the wild, then hatches and releases them once they’re big enough to make them hard to eat by predators, such as largemouth bass and bullfrogs.
Prasad says the zoo has freed around three thousand western painted turtles over the past decade.