Animals
Australia celebrates Easter with turtle eggs
The first specimens hatched shortly before Easter, as the organization Aussie Ark announced. photo
© Aussie Ark/Australian Reptile Park/dpa
Precious egg collection in Australia: To prevent foxes from eating the offspring of rare species, animal rights activists are stepping in with incubators. The first baby turtles hatched at Easter.
Not only chicken eggs are preparing Easter joy: In Australia, animal rights activists are currently celebrating 108 turtle eggs from three different species that only occur Down Under and are threatened there.
The organization Aussie Ark, which aims to help save endangered endemic species through its breeding programs, artificially hatched the fragile eggs – which are barely larger than a dime – in an incubator. The first specimens hatched shortly before Easter, as the organization announced.
“We’ve had reproductive success with the Manning River tortoise, the bell tortoise and the broad-rimmed tortoise,” said Aussie Ark employee Billy Collett. “So this year I’m the proud Easter Bunny of Aussie Ark, guarding this precious egg collection.” Seeing the young animals make their way out of the shell and into the open is a great experience. “They look like miniature dinosaurs,” said Collett happily. When they are fully grown, the animals will be released into the wild in rivers .
The three species are threatened, among other things, by the increasing loss of their natural habitat, but also by persistent droughts and deteriorated water quality. Above all, other animals such as foxes and cats eat turtle eggs, contributing to the extinction of wild populations.