A wildlife carer says she nearly “wet her pants” with excitement, after one of the country’s rarest reptiles was found on a dirt track near her home at Northcliffe in Western Australia.
Key points:
- A western swamp tortoise has been found alive in Northcliffe, years after being relocated there
- There are less than 300 western swamp tortoises in the wild
- There’s hope WA’s South West will play a bigger role in saving the species
The endangered western swamp tortoise (or turtle) was found in the D’Entrecasteaux National Park, near the town of Northcliffe more than 350 kilometres south-east of Perth, and is a survivor from a 2018 relocation program.
The initiative saw captive-bred tortoises rehomed in parts of the South West, to see if they could survive in colder, wetter conditions.
The tortoise was brought in with a cracked shell late last year, but was otherwise unharmed.
Southern Forests Wildlife carer Pauline Hewitt, who identified the animal, said she was thrilled to learn it had managed to survive.
“At the end of that experiment, when they collected up the turtles, some of the turtles remained [in the wild],” she said.
“So this is one of the turtles that remained and the really exciting part about it was this turtle was in fabulous condition, even though she had a cracked shell.
“I nearly wet my pants, it was really, really, really exciting.”
‘Is that a dinosaur turtle?’
The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attraction estimates there are less than 300 western swamp tortoises left in the wild, including the young ones that were bred in captivity at Perth Zoo and released.
The species was once feared extinct, until it was rediscovered living in wetlands on the outskirts of Perth in the 1950s.
While some call it a “smiling tortoise” because of its unusual facial markings, Ms Hewitt thinks it looks more like a dinosaur.
“They have all lumpy things on their neck and on their feet,” she said.
“So they really look like a dinosaur turtle in comparison to the modern day turtles or the oblong turtles that we see today.
“So you when you look at them, you think, ‘Oh my god, is that a dinosaur turtle?'”
The discovery in Northcliffe has sparked hope the area could become a future stronghold for the western swamp tortoise.
“There are so very few of them that to know that some have survived down here in our wetlands, it’s just amazing — it means there possibly could be a future for them,” Ms Hewitt said.
“To think that our community could be involved in saving a species, that would be absolutely wonderful.
“We have the peatlands, we have the wetlands.”
Alive and well
The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attraction’s Gerald Kuchling wouldn’t be drawn on any future releases in the area.
However, he said with habitat for the turtles drying out around Perth, it was important to find new homes.
“It’s certainly an interesting find for us, mainly because we were not sure how well suited the area is in the long-term as a release site for western swamp tortoises,” he said.
“Climate change is particularly insidious threat to the survival of the species in the wild.
“The main reason why we all do these trials in the South West, is because according to the climate predictions, there will still be more rainfall [there].”
Dr Kuchling said the animal found in Northcliffe was alive and well after being taken to Perth Zoo for a shell repair.
“It had grown quite a bit since its release five years earlier,” he said.
“It was originally released as a juvenile with about 120 grams in 2018, and when it was received it was 180g.”
Northcliffe is already home to other threatened species, including the mainland Quokka.