Endangered Bell’s Turtles captured

Northern Tablelands Local Land Services staff navigate a river while fencing Bell’s Turtle nests.

03rd Dec 2024

Northern Tablelands Local Land Services, in partnership with the University of New England, have been hard at work catching adult Bell’s Turtle (Wollumbinia belli) females before the start of the breeding season in a significant effort to save the endangered species from fox predation.
Bell’s Turtles are only found in the Northern Tablelands of NSW, but the species is facing an immense threat, with foxes eating 90-100% of eggs laid each year. While the cohort of adult Bell’s turtles over 50 years old is strong, the number of juvenile turtles in local waterways has been diminishing due to this predation.
Eggs are currently being collected from gravid females captured locally, by inducing the females with oxytocin and incubating the collected eggs in a laboratory at the University of New England. After 2 months, the turtle hatchlings will be released back into local waterways as part of the Northern Tablelands Local Land Services Highland Wetlands project.
Martin Dillon, Senior Land Services Officer at Northern Tablelands Local Land Services said that 2,723 Bell’s turtle hatchlings have been released into the environment since 2018.
“We are just now starting to recapture some of the hatchlings we have previously released, which are growing and surviving well. Hatchlings have also previously been tracked using micro-radio transmitters, with some of the hatchlings travelling up to two kilometres in two weeks”, he said.
Northern Tablelands Local Land Services are also tackling the fox predation issue through the use of fox exclusion fences and nest cages under the Strong Culture, Healthy Country project. Over the next four years, Northern Tablelands Local Land Services will also be working with Aboriginal organisations (Local Aboriginal Land Councils and other associations) that own and manage land featuring Bells’ turtle habitat. The team will be working together with these organisations to build fox exclusion fences, control and monitor fox populations, and to find and protect Bell’s turtle nests.
“While we will continue to carry out fox management strategies in the Northern Tablelands, incubating eggs in a laboratory is an important short-term solution, allowing us to bypass the predation issue and give the population a boost”, said Mr Dillon.
Voluntary conservation agreements with landholders for riparian protection and fox control have also been achieved, creating collaboration between farmers, the University of New England, Local Land Services and ecologists. The project is expected to continue for another 4 years.

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Endangered Bell’s Turtles captured

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