On July 17, ABQ BioPark announced the planned release of three Rio Grande cooters near Carlsbad, New Mexico, which took place on June 21. This release was a result of a collaborative conservation effort involving the ABQ BioPark, the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish and North Carolina State University.
The turtles had been hatched at the BioPark Zoo prior to their release, according to the City of Albuquerque website.
"The BioPark is helping us to learn more about the reproductive biology and may be an important conservation resource, should an assurance population be needed to back up the populations here," Leland Pierce of the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish wrote, according to Albuquerque's website.
The ABQ BioPark has been involved in raising Rio Grande cooters since 2017, leading to the recent release of three of these aquatic turtles into the Black River in southeastern New Mexico. The BioPark initiated a joint conservation project to study and establish best practices for caring for the cooters in captivity, ensuring their well-being and proactive preparation for potential future threats to their population. Their successful efforts in breeding and raising the turtles culminated in the planned release on June 21, demonstrating their commitment to safeguarding this near-threatened species, which is native to the Rio Grande watershed.
“I greatly appreciate the opportunity to work with the staff of the Albuquerque BioPark," Pierce told the City of Albuquerque website. "Turtles are a vital part of riverine ecosystems, including down in the southeastern parts of New Mexico. The Rio Grande cooter has a limited distribution in the state, and while we are working to learn more about its life history and, by extension, its conservation, we still have a ways to go."
Selected turtles and their siblings, raised by BioPark staff, were prepared for release into their natural habitat. The turtles underwent health tests and were acclimated to their target water temperature before the planned release. The endeavor was made possible with support from the New Mexico BioPark Society, and an additional eight eggs are currently in incubation, with diet adjustments planned for successful integration into the wild cooter population.
"I've been working on the Rio Grande cooter for the past eight years with a goal to provide much-needed information on its ecology so we can better understand this species' habitat requirements," Ivana Mali, a professor at North Carolina State University, told Albuquerque's website. "This summer's goal was to survey the Delaware River and assess the Rio Grande cooter status in this river system. Our long-term goal is to develop survivorship and somatic growth rate estimates for the cooters in the Black River, the last stronghold for the species in New Mexico. Having an assurance colony at ABQ BioPark will help further conservation measures, in case the numbers in the wild drastically decline.”