WESTBOROUGH — Forty years ago, the estimated population for the northern red-bellied cooter, a freshwater turtle that measures 10 to 12 inches long, was estimated to be about 200. Today, thanks to the efforts of the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife) and countless students from throughout the state, there are now more than 2,000 of them.
Since 1984, MassWildlife has conducted a program in which eggs of the endangered turtle are collected and distributed to schools, museums and environmental health organizations. The turtles are then raised for eight months in captivity before they're returned to MassWildlife and then released into their native habitat.
On Wednesday, MassWildlife celebrated 40 years of the head start program, welcoming about 100 volunteers and their turtles to its headquarters in Westborough.
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"I'm going to miss them, especially our smallest turtle," said Liba Vitols, a ninth grader at the Eagle Hill School in Hardwick. "We're concerned he isn't going to be able to make it on his own in the wild."
Northern red-bellied cooter is among rarest turtle species in the U.S.
The northern red-bellied cooter, which is sometimes referred to as the Plymouth red-bellied cooter, is among the rarest turtle species in the country. While various types of cooters are common across the Southeastern United States, the northern red-bellied cooter is the only cooter species found in New England.
The turtles, which are identifiable by their distinctive red undersides and red-patterned shells, are limited to a handful of ponds and lakes in Plymouth and Bristol counties. MassWildlife is authorized to collect a maximum of 125 turtle eggs each year, which are then given to partners to raise.
Mike Jones, a herpetologist at MassWildlife, was an Andover High School student in 1991 when he participated in the program, which he said led him to studying reptiles professionally. He said the northern red-bellied cooter faces numerous challenges, which have kept its population very low.
"When the turtles are first hatched, they're about the size of a silver dollar, which makes them easy prey for pretty much any vertebrate you can think of," Jones said. "They're the only cooter population in the area — every other type of cooter is living along the gulf coast, in much warmer climates."
Turtle specialist offers theory on why species is isolated to Mass.
Jones said that one theory about why the turtle population is so isolated dates back thousands of years.
"About 6,000 years ago, it was warmer here than it is today," he said. "So a theory is that the cooter species made its way north, and settled into the area. As the climate changed and it got cooler, the population whittled away and we are left with only this small population in Massachusetts."
He said other reptiles have experienced a similar trend over that same time span.
"We suspect that the population for these turtles has been quite low for a long time," Jones said.
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Partners in raising the turtles include museums such as the EcoTarium in Worcester and the Museum of Science in Boston, as well as local agricultural and vocational high schools. Eagle Hill School, an independent school, has been participating in the program for 20 years.
"The experience was really cool, when I got to Eagle Hill I wasn't expecting to do something like this, but it was really fun and eye-opening to see the species grow and have that experience," Vitols said.
Students take pride in helping to raise rare turtles
Students get a chance to study the growth phase of the turtles, from hatchlings to adult size by the time they're ready to be released.
"It was really interesting getting to raise the turtles," said Aiden Ward, an eighth grader at Eagle Hill. "It was a pretty cool experience and we got to see the turtle grow, and our turtles ended up being pretty darn big."
Turtles will be released to the wild on Friday; they will be tagged and monitored by MassWildlife to keep track of their activity.
In June and July, the cycle begins anew, as females will make nests on the beaches of their native ponds, and MassWildlife will collect eggs and distribute them to new partners.
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