Red-Bellied Turtles Get a Head Start on Life

Thirty-two red-bellied turtles were released into the wild last week by scientists trying to revive the highly endangered species found only in a small corner of southeastern Massachusetts.

It marked the second straight year that the National Fish and Wildlife Service and the New England Aquarium have bred the turtles and released them in the Massasoit National Wildlife Refuge.

The fate of the red-bellied turtle in recent years has worried ecologists, who estimate that only 300 adults survive in the marshy inland ponds of Plymouth County, the only area in the United States where the turtles breed.

As a result, the Wildlife Service’s endangered species office instituted a “head start” program for the turtles, which are ranked higher on the endangered list than the American bald eagle.

Scientists gathered the newly hatched turtles in late October and transferred them to a controlled environment at the aquarium in Boston, where they were allowed to grow through the winter and spring months.