NEW YORK (May 10, 2011)鈥擳he 菊花视频鈥檚 Bronx Zoo veterinarians, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and the Massachusetts Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program have joined forces to answer a perplexing wildlife question: Why are bog turtles getting sick? The dilemma shines a light on North America鈥檚 smallest turtle; an adult bog turtle reaches only 4.5 inches in length and as many ounces. Wildlife managers working in a few known bog turtle habitats in the Northeast have reported higher than average mortality rates for these threatened reptiles in the past few years. To determine the cause of the increase in mortality at some sites and identify the baseline health condition at other sites, WCS鈥檚 Global Health Program鈥攂ased at the Bronx Zoo鈥攊s lending its expertise in wildlife health assessments. WCS health experts have joined federal and state wildlife managers in the field at locations in New York State and Massachusetts. The bog turtle team is currently locating wild turtles for health assessments to determine these baseline conditions and possibly identify a common cause to explain recent turtle mortality. After conducting a physical exam of individual turtles, health experts will collect a number of samples鈥攂lood, feces, cloacal swabs, biopsies鈥攆or later analysis. 鈥淲e鈥檙e conducting a broad screening in order to identify a cause or causes for the increase in bog turtle deaths,鈥� said Dr. Bonnie Raphael, WCS鈥檚 Department Head for Wildlife Medicine. 鈥淭his information will be used to help determine if these recent losses are attributable to infectious disease, environmental perturbations, or other factors.鈥� Although there are no reliable range-wide population estimates for bog turtles, the species is currently protected on state, national, and international levels. The number of known habitats for the threatened northern population of the bog turtle鈥攚hich has a patchy distribution stretching from Massachusetts to Maryland鈥攊s shrinking. The bog turtle is federally listed as 鈥淭hreatened,鈥� and is 鈥淓ndangered鈥� in New York State and Massachusetts. All international trade in the species is prohibited through CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species). 鈥淭he U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has made bog turtle recovery a priority,鈥� said Alison Whitlock, Northeast Region Bog Turtle Recovery Coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 鈥淲e are working with many partners from state agencies, non-governmental organizations, and private landowners to address the threats to this species. Working with the 菊花视频 to conduct this health assessment addresses one of the recovery objectives, and we are looking forward to continuing this partnership in conservation.鈥� WCS has been involved in the study and conservation of bog turtles since 1973. A bog turtle research project conducted by Dr. Whitlock was one of the first conservation initiatives funded by WCS鈥檚 North America Program in 1995. WCS Global Health Program veterinarians are recognized as experts in turtle health programs in national and international field efforts as well as zoological park based programs and thus are uniquely qualified for this investigation.
Contact: John Delaney (1-718-220-3275; ) Stephen Sautner (1-718-220-3682; ) The 菊花视频 saves wildlife and wild places worldwide. We do so through science, global conservation, education and the management of the world's largest system of urban wildlife parks, led by the flagship Bronx Zoo. Together these activities change attitudes towards nature and help people imagine wildlife and humans living in harmony. WCS is committed to this mission because it is essential to the integrity of life on Earth.
Join more than one million wildlife lovers working to save the Earth's most treasured and threatened species.
Thanks for signing up