Turtle troubles: Sightings of red-eared sliders in local ponds and drains prompt warning

An example of a red-eared terrapin turtle, as seen in Cornwall Park bird aviary in Hastings. Photo / Warren Buckland

• Turtles sighted in Napier’s waterways are believed to have been dumped.
• Joe Woolcott from the National Aquarium warns red-eared sliders can harm native biodiversity.
• Woolcott advises taking a photo and registering sightings on the iNaturalist app for tracking.

Turtles have been sighted around and in Napier’s waterways and experts believe they have been abandoned.

The turtles were spotted around Taradale, Maraenui, and Anderson Park on Saturday and Sunday and were reported on local community Facebook pages.

Joe Woolcott, general curator of the National Aquarium of New Zealand, said the turtles were red-eared sliders, native to the southern states of America.

“Aotearoa does not have freshwater native turtles. The only native turtles here are sea turtles.”

Woolcott said he believed the red-eared sliders would have escaped private enclosures or have been deliberately released by pet owners who can no longer care for them or who have lost interest.

“Red-eared sliders and other pet turtles can live for many decades and as they grow require provision of increasingly large habitats.

“This may be possible but requires a massive commitment and consideration of what happens if the primary carer can no longer look after them.

“Like many introduced species, red-eared sliders can have a negative impact on our native biodiversity through predation, competition, and habitat modification.

“It is totally irresponsible to release them to the wild.”

Woolcott said people who saw a turtle in or around Napier or the Hawke’s Bay waterways should take a photo and register the sighting on the iNaturalist app.

“Doing this will build a picture of Hawke’s Bay’s turtle numbers and whereabouts for any future management.”

A spokeswoman from Hot House Turtles, a turtle specialist store based at Taradale, said although the turtles could be a pest in Hawke’s Bay while the weather was hot over summer, they typically died in the wild once temperatures drop.

The animals were cold-blooded reptiles and required heat to survive, she said.

Woolcott said they were more like to become semi-dormant than die.

“Red eared sliders are ectotherms, this means their body temperature is maintained by external sources such as the air, water, sunlight or warm surfaces.

“As temperatures drop they become less active and at temperatures below about 10 degress they can enter a semi-dormant state called brumation.

“They are known to spend this time buried in sediments on the bottom of a pond and can go for extended periods of time without surfacing to breathe. This may explain why they are more commonly observed in the warmer months.”

Jack Riddell is a multimedia journalist with Hawke’s Bay Today and spent the last 15 years working in radio and media in Auckland, London, Berlin, and Napier. He reports on all stories relevant to residents of the region, along with pieces on art, music, and culture.