Saving Turtles Together
By Fred Boyce
The AZA SAFE American Turtles program
The North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores has just opened its newly
expanded outdoor habitat for eastern box turtles. Located along the scenic
marsh boardwalk, just to the east of the snake pavilion, the first incarnation
of this habitat was constructed in 2013 and was enclosed by a low fence made
of treated fence posts. This first habitat provided a great outdoor home for our
box turtles and weathered five severe storms, including Hurricanes Dorian and
Michael, but inevitably began showing signs of wear and tear over the past two
years and clearly needed an upgrade.
The spacious new habitat, roughly three times as large as the previous one,
will give our turtles much more room to roam. Instead of treated wooden posts,
which are susceptible to rot, the new fence is constructed of large and nearly
indestructible palisades formed of plastic composite made from recycled mate-
in traditional medicine. Southeast Asia has always been among the world’s rich
est regions for turtle diversity, but as its native turtle species have become de
pleted, importers have turned to wildlife traffickers in the United States. “When
the turtles we’re used to seeing are literally being taken from their homes, it’s
heartbreaking,” says Dave Collins of the Tennessee Aquarium, who is the pro
gram leader and driving force behind American Turtles. “When you see pictures
of a pen with 200 to 400 box turtles all piled on top of one another waiting to be
shipped into the trade, it’s devastating.”
Two views of the newly completed box turtle habitat at the local aquarium
—Photo by Fred Boyce
rials. The front part of the habitat, under the boardwalk, is made of sturdy mesh,
which will allow water to pass through in case of flooding.
In February 2020, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) introduced
“American Turtles” as a new part of their signature conservation initiative, SAFE
(Saving Animals From Extinction). American Turtles includes such severely
threatened northern species as the Blanding’s turtle and the wood turtle, as well
as three species of turtle native to North Carolina: the spotted turtle, the bog
turtle and the eastern box turtle.
More than 60 percent of the world’s 356 turtle species—the highest percentage
of any vertebrate—are considered to be in peril. In addition to the ubiquitous
issue of habitat loss, worldwide declines in turtle populations are being driven by
a thriving illegal trade that serves a global demand for turtles as pets, food or use
One of the turtles in the aquarium habitat—Photo by Are Mbcianahan
Collins considers the eastern United States to be another turtle hotspot.
“Whether it’s bog turtles in North Carolina or wood turtles in Upstate New
York, trafficking is having a dramatic impact on turtle populations all over the
country)’ he says. Collins conceived of a collaborative partnership with zoos
and aquariums, universities, government agencies and conservation nonprofits
working together to solve the problem.
One of the biggest difficulties is that any interdiction by law enforcement
inevitably produces numbers of confiscated turtles that require proper housing
and care. “Being able to hand confiscated turtles over to expert care providers
through the SAFE program allows wildlife agencies to focus on being proac
tive,” says Julie Slacum of the US. Fish and Wildlife’s Chesapeake Bay Field Office.
“This results in the best conservation outcome for these turtles, whether they are
released into the wild, captive bred for assurance colonies or used for education
(Continued on page 6)
2 The Shoreline I September 2022