Turtles Make a Fast Move to New Home at Descanso Gardens

They weren’t exactly Heroes on a Half Shell, but to the third-graders from Daniel Webster Elementary School in Pasadena on Friday, 50 transplanted turtles from the Los Angeles Zoo were a fair substitute for the Teenage Mutant Ninja variety.

The turtles--of the red-eared slider, painted and soft-shelled varieties--were released into a lake at Descanso Gardens in La Canada Flintridge. They were refugees from the zoo’s Swan Lake, which is being drained and filled in to conserve water.

The youngsters were thrilled to see the new lake residents, chanting, “The turtles are coming. The turtles are coming.” But Willard, the lake’s mascot gander, was not pleased. Willard first pecked at camera lenses and tugged on trousers, then plopped a webbed foot on a turtle that had been surrounded by photographers.