After an important hatching season, conservationists like Billy Collett are celebrating progress made towards saving Australia's endangered freshwater turtle species from extinction.
His organisation, Aussie Ark, has been breeding three different species at the Australian Reptile Park in Somersby, NSW — doubling its success this year.
"So exciting," Collett said.
"Forty-eight Hunter River turtle eggs, 39 Bell's turtle eggs, and a whopping 85 Manning River turtle eggs. We will care and look after these beautiful little hatchlings until they're bigger and stronger, and then we can return them back out into the wild rivers where they belong."
He said programs like this come at a time when the ancient animals are under threat.
"These turtles literally date back millions of years to the age of the dinosaurs and now they're facing extinction, which is really upsetting," Collett said.
"So that's why this project is absolutely critical for the survival of the species."
Why are these turtles under threat?
Martin Dillon, senior land services officer at the Northern Tablelands Local Land Services, leads an operation to protect the local population of Bell's turtles, which are found exclusively in northern NSW.
He said the species has been pushed to the brink of extinction in recent years by invasive predators, particularly European foxes.
Dillon said the foxes — considered a pest species in Australia — train their cubs to patrol the riverbanks where the turtles lay their eggs during the nesting season.
Dr Lou Streeting, a researcher from the University of New England, said more than 95 per cent of Bell's turtle nests are raided partly due to the turtles' hands-off parenting approach.
"They don't have maternal care, so they deposit their eggs on the riverbank and the female returns to the water," she said. "The eggs are very vulnerable to foxes."
Billy Collett, operations manager at Aussie Ark, holding a Hunter River turtle egg.
Under a partnership with the University of New England, female turtles are taken for a couple of days, and their eggs are harvested before they are returned to the river.
"Those eggs stay in the lab in the incubator to get through and thereby bypassing the foxes," Dillon said.
Streeting said the joint program has been incredibly successful, producing close to 4,000 baby turtles in just a few years.
"It takes 60 days for the babies to hatch out, and then those babies return to the waterways," she said.
"Just this season, we've produced 1,085 babies, and during our program over the last few years, we've produced now just over 3,800 hatchlings and returned them to the waterways."
Conservationist Billy Collett said his organisation, Aussie Ark, are working to save endangered freshwater turtle species from extinction. Source: Supplied / Aussie Ark
"So finding nests and protecting them individually with wire mesh, and also putting temporary electric fences around prime nesting areas to deter foxes," Streeting said. "And those nest protection methods have been proving really, really successful."
Dillon said it's nearly impossible to keep foxes out completely, but the electric fence can help redirect them.
And while foxes remain a prime enemy of the Mary River turtle in south-east Queensland, the quirky species has faced historic threats from humans that have left their population close to extinction.
In the 1960s and 1970s, egg harvesting was rampant as turtles were a popular pet in Australia.
About 15,000 were sent to shops every year, branded as the "penny turtle".
Dr Mariana Campbell, a research lecturer specialising in animal science at Charles Darwin University, said this had a major impact on their population.
The critically endangered species is often called the "green-haired turtle" or the "punk turtle" due to the algae that grows on its head — sometimes forming what looks like a mohawk-like hairdo.
While the number of breeding females fell 95 per cent between 1970 and 2000, Campbell said she's witnessed first-hand how community groups and traditional owners have helped turn the tide.
"I have been involved with the community group up in the Mary River for almost 20 years now, and I know that nothing can replace that," Campbell said.
"The local engagement, the local knowledge and the passion that they have for their backyard."
She said these efforts have resulted in thousands of young Mary River turtles re-entering the river every year.
