Subject: Re: Dead Racoon and turtles
Date: Oct 14 10:02:31 1998
From: Kelly Mcallister - mcallkrm at dfw.wa.gov




On Tue, 13 Oct 1998, Cliff Drake wrote:

> (snip) I saw a turtle at the Ballard Locks this morning in the salt
> water side. 6 to 8 inches, squarish, it was floating on the surface
> until we walked up to it and I blurted "Look! A turtle!" It dove and
> followed the steep rock slope downward. Are turtles common in salt water?

Lake Washington is known to be well-stocked with exotic turtles, primarily
Red-eared Sliders. I would guess that is what you saw.

However, Western Pond Turtles were historically found in the Lake Washington
system and there is frequent speculation that a few may remain. Western
Pond Turtles are listed by the State as an Endangered Species because they
have been lost from southern Puget Sound region. The only turtles found
in this region in the last two decades have appeared to be old animals
in areas devoid of others of their kind. Western Pond Turtles have
been described to inhabit brackish estuarine habitats in California.
In Washington around 1990 a Western Pond Turtle (adult male) walked into
a machine shop on the Hylebos waterway. It was taken into captivity. The
first time it defecated the contents were clearly identified to be comprised
largely of Ulva or Sea Lettuce. Therefore, this turtle had apparently spent
some time in the salt water. This turtle is now a mainstay in the captive
breeding program at Woodland Park Zoo and his offspring are our hope for
repopulating portions of the species' former range.

To make a long story longer, freshwater turtles generally belong in
fresh water and I don't believe that the turtle at Hiram's will survive
long in full strength sea water.

Kelly McAllister
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife