Chesterton Tribune

 

 

Lincoln Park Zoo helps re-introduce ornate box turtles into wild

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CHICAGO (AP) - Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo and federal officials have launched efforts to help a threatened species of turtle.

The zoo and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service re-introduced 11 ornate box turtles to their native habitat at Thomson Sand Prairie and Lost Mound in Savanna in northwest Illinois.

To help the population, the turtles’ eggs are collected and transferred to the zoo. There they are hatched and raised without the threat of predators, including raccoons, snakes and coyotes.

The turtles receive unique markings and radio transmitters for research and tracking purposes.

Lincoln Park Zoo curator Diane Mulkerin said in a statement last week that tracking the turtles is an essential part of population restoration.

 

 

Posted 6/15/2015

 
 

 

 

 

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