{"id":578965,"date":"2026-02-10T03:58:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T03:58:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/578965\/"},"modified":"2026-02-10T03:58:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T03:58:19","slug":"turtles-discovered-in-dumaresq-dam-could-be-dumped-pets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/578965\/","title":{"rendered":"Turtles discovered in Dumaresq Dam could be dumped pets"},"content":{"rendered":"

The unexpected discovery of four turtle species at Dumaresq Dam, near Armidale in northern NSW, has researchers perplexed and concerned about the fate of an endangered species.<\/p>\n

The discovery has come as a surprise, as native turtles generally prefer running water.<\/p>\n

But things changed when researchers from the University of New England (UNE) noticed posts online reporting endangered Bell’s turtles in the water.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A lone broad-shelled turtle was found during the survey. (Supplied: UNE)<\/p>\n

A UNE team conducted the first turtle survey at the site over January 19-22, recording not only Bell’s turtles but also the eastern long-necked turtle, Murray River turtles and a single large broad-shelled turtle.<\/p>\n

Deborah Bower, associate professor in zoology and ecology at UNE, said they did not know where the turtles came from.<\/p>\n

“It’s quite rare in Australia to have so many turtles in the same place \u2026 usually three is the maximum you’d get in one place [in southern Australia],” she said.<\/p>\n

“We’ve been taking genetic samples from those animals to understand if they’ve got there naturally from the Gwydir catchment.”<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/p>\n

Genetic testing on the turtles could show if they arrived in Dumaresq Dam naturally. (Supplied: UNE)<\/p>\n

Pet peeve<\/p>\n

Only the eastern long-necked turtle is considered to be native to the area, and the presence of a single broad-shelled turtle has left researchers wondering if some of the reptiles were once pets.<\/p>\n

Dr Bower said they often found turtles in strange places after people dumped pets that had grown larger than expected.<\/p>\n

“[Owners] think they are doing the right thing, releasing them back into rivers and dams, but those turtles don’t naturally occur there,” she said<\/p>\n

“In some cases they can hybridise with species that are already there and reduce their genetic purity, or they could cause competition or introduce disease.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In 2015 several Macquarie turtles, thought to be abandoned pets<\/a>, were scooped up from a golf course in Alice Springs, while in 2010 a flat-shelled turtle was found south of Perth<\/a> hundreds of kilometres from its natural environment.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Large Macquarie turtles found living in the Alice Springs Golf Course in 2015 were suspected to be dumped pets. (ABC News: Rob Herrick)<\/p>\n

In NSW it is illegal to release an unwanted pet turtle into the wild \u2014 they must by law either be given to a licensed handler or euthanased.<\/p>\n

Data from the Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service (WIRES) showed there were 1,500 turtle rescues across 2024\u201325 with similar numbers reported the previous year.<\/p>\n

Those cases included turtles hit by cars, found in inappropriate places, and mass rescue events when water sources dried up.<\/p>\n

According to WIRES, “pet” turtles can carry diseases such as salmonella and parasites, which can lead to death and illness among native populations.<\/p>\n

Common pet turtle species such as red-eared sliders are considered a biosecurity risk for this reason.<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/p>\n

Red-eared slider turtles are one of the most invasive species in the world. (ABC News: Isabel Dayman)<\/p>\n

Native to the Midwestern states of the USA and north-eastern Mexico, red-eared sliders are listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as one of world’s most invasive species, with an ability to breed quickly and adapt to various environments.<\/p>\n

Cautious optimism<\/p>\n

Dr Bower said time and research would reveal if the four turtle species found in Dumaresq Dam could co-exist in the small ecosystem.<\/p>\n

She said there were concerns for the endangered Bell’s turtle, which was already dealing with about 90 per cent of nests being predated on in the wild.<\/p>\n

“We’re looking at declining populations, we’re seeing at least in the border rivers catchment not a lot of juveniles coming into the population and also hybridisation with the Murray River turtle,” Dr Bower said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

While both are natives, Murray River turtles (shown) have been known to hybridise with Bell’s turtles. (Supplied: UNE)<\/p>\n

“We’ve got a program where we’re working with local land services \u2026 releasing thousands of turtles back into the wild.”<\/p>\n

Dr Bower said the discovery of Bell’s turtles in Dumaresq Dam was positive for the species and conservation.<\/p>\n

“It’s really exciting finding another catchment where they are separated from the other [known populations] and if they do go extinct in other catchments, they might survive in this one.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The unexpected discovery of four turtle species at Dumaresq Dam, near Armidale in northern NSW, has researchers perplexed…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":578966,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[23],"tags":[251237,251240,251236,251242,251238,746,251239,159,67925,67,132,251241,68],"class_list":["post-578965","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-bells-turtle","tag-broad-shelled-turtle","tag-dumaresq-dam","tag-dumping-unwanted-pets","tag-eastern-long-necked-turtle","tag-environment","tag-murray-river-turtle","tag-science","tag-turtles","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-unwanted-pet-turtles","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116044333419223939","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/578965","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=578965"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/578965\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/578966"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=578965"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=578965"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=578965"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}