There's more baby animal news coming from the Dresden Zoo! For the first time, nine Borneo River Turtles (Orlitia borneensis) have hatched. This is also the first of its species hatched at a zoo in Germany.

On April 9, keepers noticed a clutch of eggs on the exhibit ground covered with leaves and other nesting materials. The eggs were recovered and subsequently carefully monitored in an incubator. Then, from mid-August to early September, the babies hatched from their eggs using their egg tooth, a hard horny projection on the bill with which they crack the hard shell. Eight of the 9 hatchlings survived the first critical days; each is now being reared behind the scenes.

Also known as the Malaysian Giant Turtle, the Borneo River Turtle is the largest river turtle, growing to be up to 32 inches (80 cm). They lead solitary lives, inhabiting fresh waters -- rivers and lakes -- in Malaysia, Borneo and Sumatra.

The Borneo River Turtle is considered Vulnerable in peninsular Malaysia and Endangered in Indonesia, where it is exported in large quantities despite official protection. It is threatened by hunting and poaching for sale in East Asian food markets in huge numbers. Therefore this successful breeding at the Dresden Zoo greatly aids the conservation of this rare turtle -- and what they learn can be shared with other zoos to support perpetuation of this species. 

Photo Credit: Dresden Zoo

Western Pond Turtles are making a comeback, and these week-old hatchlings at the Oregon Zoo are destined to aid in the species’ recovery.

For more than two decades the Oregon Zoo has been working to restore this species to its historic range, which once extended from Baja California to Puget Sound.  As a result, Western Pond Turtle (Actinemys marmorata) numbers are on the rise.  This species, which can live up to 70 years, has been profoundly affected by the construction of river dams, invasive plants, predation, and draining of wetlands.

In 1990, the Western Pond Turtle “head-starting” project was initiated, which accelerates turtles’ natural growth rates, and thus their ability to withstand predation. The Oregon Zoo collaborates with Woodland Park Zoo and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Other partners include Bonneville Power Administration and the U.S. Forest Service.

Each spring, scientists count, trap, mark and fit transmitters on adult females in the wild.  In summer, the females are monitored and nest sites are identified.  Hatchlings are collected in the fall to be cared for at the zoo.  Juveniles, some of whom are fitted with transmitters, are returned to the wild the following spring.

The first turtles released in 1991 in the Columbia River Gorge are reproducing and laying eggs in the wild. Over the past two decades, approximately 1,500 turtles have been released, and with good results: the gorge turtle population ranged from a low of 150 in 1990 to approximately 1,500 in 2011. Scientists tracking them estimate that 95 percent of the turtles released to sites in the Columbia River Gorge have survived.

A tiny new face has Tennessee Aquarium herpetologists smiling. This is the Aquarium’s first successful hatching of a Keeled Box Turtle, Cuora mouhotii, a species that is considered endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN).  Unlike other endangered Turtles reared at the Aquarium this year, this recent addition was rather slow to venture into the world. “The spiny Turtles just come right out,” said senior herpetologist Bill Hughes. “But this Turtle seemed content to open one end of the egg and look out at the world from inside the shell. It stayed there for two days before emerging.”

Photo credit: Tennessee Aquarium

Keeled Box Turtles get their common names from the three raised ridges, or “keels” running the length of their shells. The edge of the shell has a number of sharp spikes near the tail. Their rugged appearance doesn’t match a tender start. This species tends to lay rather fragile eggs that are often crushed by the parents. Luckily this one was discovered by keepers before being damaged. “This baby Turtle hatched after an incubation period lasting 126 days,” said Hughes.

This species is native to China, India, Laos, Myanmar and Viet Nam. Like many other Southeast Asian Turtles, keeled box Turtles have been over-collected in the wild for food and the pet trade. Several conservation organizations are working to protect the remaining wild populations from illegal trade, while zoos and aquariums are working toward increasing assurance populations in human care. This assures that the species does not go extinct if these animals disappear in the wild. Currently the U.S. population of Keeled Box Turtles at accredited zoos and aquariums is fewer than 20 animals.

The Tennessee Aquarium has one of the largest turtle collections on public display with more than 500 individuals representing 75 species. The Aquarium now has six Keeled Box Turtles. There are three adults, one male and two females, this new baby and a pair of young Keeled Box Turtles on exhibit in the Turtle Gallery on level 2 of the River Journey building.

If you're looking for Turtles and Tortoises today, you've come to the right place. Phoenix Zoo welcomed the birth of a tiny (compared to his dad Ralph that is!) Galapagos Tortoise in late July. Proud parents Ralph and Mary have been at the zoo since before it even opened (50 years!). This is their 13th hatchling over their tenure at the zoo, and the first one for the pair since 2001. The newest addition can be found in its own exhibit in the Small Wonders area of the Children’s Trail.

Photo credit: Paula Swanson (1 and 2) Zoo Staff (3)

Ralph weighs more than 500 pounds. His new baby is about the size of a small cell phone. Chris and Andrew (pictured above with Ralph) of ZooBorns were lucky enough to meet Ralph, Mary, and the new baby in person at The Phoenix Zoo during the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' annual conference.

This week the Houston Zoo announced that five baby Madagascar Big-Headed Turtles hatched in their Madagascar Lemur exhibit. The hatchlings are small – approximately 6.8 g each, just a little larger than an US Quarter, and averaging only 28.7mm wide and 32.3 mm long.

This is the first hatching at a zoo in the United States – and Houston is one of the only zoos in the world that is currently breeding them. Ranked at number 16 on the worlds’ most endangered turtle and tortoise list, these turtles are facing extinction due to drastic deforestation and illegal hunting. This species can only be found in seven protected areas in western Madagascar. 

Photo Credit: Stephanie Adams/Houston Zoo

Read more about these endangered Turtles after the jump:

Florida Chicken Turtle

The Tennessee Aquarium’s collection of more than 500 Turtles from 75 different species got a boost with 21 babies from four species hatching this summer.

Aquarium senior herpetologist Bill Hughes reports eight Yellow-blotched Map Turtles hatched this year. This species is endemic to Mississippi. “They are declining in the wild because of habitat loss and are currently federally-protected,” Hughes said.  The sex of these hatchlings depends on the incubation temperature. Aquarium experts are able to manage the temperature carefully to get an even number of male and female Yellow-blotched Map Turtles. This is critical for the long-term success of any Turtle breeding program.


Red-headed Amazon River Turtles

Seven endangered Red-headed Amazon River Turtles hatched this summer, as did three endangered Four-eyed Turtles. The Four-eyed Turtle gets its name from the false eye markings on the neck. The majority of the U.S. population of these Turtles is at the Tennessee Aquarium, the only zoo or aquarium currently breeding this species. “Critically endangered species, including many Asian species such as the Four-eyed Turtle, face a very real threat of disappearing in the wild,” said Dave Collins, the Aquarium’s curator of forests.


Four-eyed Turtle

Finally, two Florida Chicken Turtles joined the baby boom at the Aquarium. This species is not threatened or endangered in the wild.  They were once commonly sold in southern markets as food. The meat was said to “taste like chicken.” Collins says breeding success among these rather abundant Turtles can help other endangered species.


Four-eyed Turtle (left), Yellow-blotched Map Turtle (right)

Photo Credits:  Bill Hughes / Tennessee Aquarium

Lincoln Park Zoo's eighteen newly-hatched Ornate Box Turtles have a big future ahead. These quarter-sized turtles are part of a conservation effort between Lincoln Park Zoo and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) that aims to restore the dwindling population of the threatened Ornate Box Turtle across the state. “Our job at Lincoln Park Zoo is to give these little guys the best possible head start. In a sense, we are a turtle nursery,” said General Curator Dave Bernier. “We love to work on these types of conservation projects, especially when an Illinois species that literally lives in our backyard is involved.”

The hatchlings will spend their first year at the zoo’s Kovler Lion House before being released into their natural home -- Illinois sand prairie. But it will take a village: Their zoo turtle team consists of Bernier, zoo reptile experts, and, unexpectedly, the exotic carnivore keepers at the Kovler Lion House. They will live in groups of six surrounded by comfy moss that they can use for nesting, and the climate will be kept warm and balmy – just the way turtles like it. Animal care staff will feed them specially formulated, high nutrient turtle chow. 

Photo Credit: Lincoln Park Zoo

When the turtles are mature enough to be released, the zoo’s partners from USFWS will help them settle into their new home at Lost Mound Sand Prairie, a Unit of Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge in Savanna, Ill. Located within the former Savanna Army Depot, the area used to be home to many Ornate Box Turtles before habitat loss caused by years of military activities drastically reduced the species’ population.

Read more about the conservation efforst after the jump:

A Quartet of tiny Tortoises (critically endangered Egyptian Tortoises to be exact) has hatched at Marwell Wildlife in Hampshire, U.K. The first youngster to hatch weighed just 3.9g and measures slightly taller than the height of a nickel! New hatchlings may be small but this species can go on to live for up to 50 years.

Egyptian Tprtoises are nearly extinct in the wild. Their habitat (two small populations remain in Libya) has been largely destroyed by human activity. The species is also threatened by the illegal pet trade.

Photo credit: © Solent Newsagency

Marwell currently houses 10 adults in its Cold Blooded Corner. A full size adult can grow to around 15 centimeters long and weigh 500 grams. Two of Marwell's females laid eggs earlier in the year and these were removed and placed in an incubator to ensure optimal conditions for their development; precisely 30 degrees centigrade and 75% humidity.

New York's Rosamond Gifford Zoo announced that 27 Yellow-Spotted Amazon River turtles hatched at the zoo between April 5 and April 12. Named for the yellow spots on the side of its head, it is one of the largest river turtles in South America.

“The hatching of these once-endangered species is exciting for us, as many of them will enhance the exhibits at other accredited zoos around the country,” said Ted Fox, zoo director. “Captive breeding programs are often critical in the survival of a species, and this is a success story we are proud to tell.”

Females typically lay two clutches of eggs each year, each with up to 50 eggs in it. They make their nests in sandy areas on the banks of rivers where the eggs will hatch two to three months after they are laid. In the wild, eggs are laid at the peak of the dry season so the nest will not be washed away.

Photo Credit: Amelia Beamish/Rosamond Gifford Zoo

Read more after the jump:

Photo Credit: Bill Hughes

Now you can see the highly endangered baby Spiny Turtle at Tennessee Aquarium in action after reading all about them in our ZooBorn's Post on February 13. It's evident where this distinctive turtle gets it's name -- from the pointy, spiky-edged prongs on it's shell. In effect, it's likened to a walking pin cushion! It's also called a 'cog-wheel turtle'. 

In the wild, Spiny Turtles usually live in the vicinity of small streams of south-east Asia. While their bony protrusions have been thought to act as armor from predators like snakes, as the turtle grows the edges get worn down, so that in adulthood, Spiny Turtles have a much smoother shell (as seen in the video below).

The gray-brown head and spots on the eyes and legs act as camoflage the turtle in it's natural leafy ground environment in the wild. Unfortunately the ability to hide well in it's habitat has not prevented huge numbers of turtles being caught for the food and pet trades, and in Indonesia the species is considered Critically Endangered, while populations elsewhere are also under threat.