Julie Larsen Maher/Wildlife Conservation Society One of five Chinese yellow-headed box turtles that hatched at the Bronx Zoo.The Bronx Zoo has taken a slow and steady step toward victory in a race to save a gravely endangered turtle from extinction.
The zoo announced Monday that five Chinese yellow-headed box turtles had hatched. The turtles were born at different times during the fall, but the zoo had held off on the announcement until it made sure the animals were healthy.
Zoo-goers can see the five hatchlings, which don't have names, through a window at the Reptile House's nursery.
Chinese yellow-headed box turtles are among the 25 mos t-endangered types of turtles in the world. Fewer than 150 remain in the wild, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society, which runs the Bronx Zoo. In China, the turtles have been used as food, pets and in traditional medicine. Pollution and habitat loss have also played roles in the turtle population's decline.
Breeding the baby turtles, which all came from the same two parents, required zoo workers to artificially recreate the turtles' natural habitat - they are found in Anhui Province in eastern China.
The hatchlings were part of the organization's larger plan to replenish some endangered turtle species' populations.
“The success we are seeing in the early stages of this program is encouraging,†Jim Breheny, the Wildlife Conservation Society's executive vice president for zoos and aquarium, said in a news release. “Over time, we hope to expand our turtle propagation work to extend to many of the most endangered s pecies of turtles and tortoises.â€
