16 July 2014

They could die before hatching. They could be eaten by the predators. They could freeze the first winter... However today they are alive and healthy, have significantly grown up and not so vulnerable anymore, they are diving in their native ponds – 103 in Lithuanian zoological garden reared European pond turtles returned to their native ponds in the southern Lithuania.

Aiming to conserve population of European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis)  in Lithuania, the turtle eggs, which were laid in the insecure places, were collected and hatched in the incubators in Lithuanian zoological garden. Almost 150 turtles hatched in the zoo from the eggs, collected from the insecure places during three years.  103 turtles, which were already released back to the wild, will significantly contribute to the conservation of the turtle population, there are only 400 – 500 turtle individuals living in the nature in Lithuania. 25 turtle juveniles are still growing stronger in the zoo and getting ready for the release next year.