Media Advisory: Rescued baby snapping turtles to be returned to the wild

The public event aims to raise awareness about the risks turtles face in Ontario

KING CITY, ON, June 29, 2016 /CNW/ - Media and the public are invited to take part Thursday as 12 snapping turtle hatchlings, rescued as eggs, are returned to their wetland habitat.

WHAT: The turtle release is a free event hosted by the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre.
Tickets are available at babyturtles.eventbrite.ca.

WHO: 

• Dr. Sue Carstairs, executive and medical director of the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre and Professor at Seneca College
• David Miller, president and CEO, WWF-Canada
• Elizabeth Hendriks, vice-president freshwater, WWF-Canada
• David Agnew, president, Seneca College
• Laura Hearn, senior manager, community investment marketing at TELUS
• Steve Pellegrini, Mayor of the Township of King

Select members of the public will have the opportunity to take part in the release as well.

WHERE:
Eaton Hall (outdoors)
Seneca College – King Campus 990 Dufferin St.
King City, ON, L7B 1B3

WHEN: Thursday, June 30 from 10 a.m. ET – 12 p.m. ET

About these turtles
The turtle eggs were discovered in fall 2015 on a bridge scheduled to be torn down at Seneca's King Campus. The Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre (OTCC), was able to collect, incubate and hatch the eggs as part of their head-starting program.  Now large enough, the turtles are ready to be returned to the wild.

With the help of WWF-Canada's Go Wild Community Grants presented by TELUS, the OTCC is hosting a public event to celebrate their release, offering a rare opportunity to see a species at risk returned to the wild. Turtles from OTCC's education program will also be present to raise awareness about threats to turtles and teach the public how they can help turtles recover.

The 12 hatchlings are just one clutch of hundreds that are helped each year by OTCC. In 2015, OTCC hatched more than 1,000 turtles through the head-starting program. More than 500 adult turtles receive treatment at the centre's turtle hospital annually.

WWF-Canada is working to better understand and raise awareness about the threats faced by freshwater species, including turtles, by performing the first ever nation-wide assessment of our watersheds. For more information, visit wwf.ca/watershedreports

Threats to Ontario's turtles:

• In Ontario, seven of the eight turtle species are considered at risk.
• Less than 1 per cent of eggs make it to adulthood, so every turtle hatchling saved through OTCC's head-starting program is crucial to preventing turtles from disappearing from our ecosystems.
• Habitat loss and fragmentation have played a major role in the decline of turtles as marshes, swamps, bogs and fens where turtles live are drained, filled or otherwise altered.
• Road mortality is also becoming a major threat to turtles as more roads are built through remaining wetlands.
• Other threats include the pet trade, human consumption, pollution, competition with non-native turtle species such as red-eared sliders and increasing populations of predators that are benefiting from human settlement.

About Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre:
Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre, home of the Kawartha Turtle Trauma Centre, is a registered charity whose goal is to protect and conserve Ontario's native turtles and the habitat in which they live. The centre operates a turtle hospital that treats, rehabilitates and releases injured turtles, performs extensive research in the field to further conservation initiatives and runs a comprehensive education and outreach program.

About World Wildlife Fund Canada
WWF-Canada creates solutions to the environmental challenges that matter most for Canadians. We work in places that are unique and ecologically important, so that nature, wildlife and people thrive together. Because we are all wildlife. For more information, visit wwf.ca.  

About Go Wild Community Grants presented by TELUS
In partnership with TELUS, WWF-Canada's Go Wild Community Grants support creative ideas from Canadians on how to protect, restore, monitor, educate and celebrate nature. For more information, visit http://www.wwf.ca/takeaction/gowild/

About Seneca College:
With campuses in Toronto, York Region and Peterborough, Seneca offers degrees, diplomas, certificates and graduate programs renowned for their quality and respected by employers. It is one of the largest comprehensive colleges in Canada, offering nearly 300 full-time, part-time and online programs. Combining the highest academic standards with work-integrated and applied learning, expert teaching faculty and the latest technology ensure Seneca graduates are career-ready.

To RSVP for this fun and free family event, please visit http://babyturtles.eventbrite.ca

SOURCE WWF-Canada

Emily Vandermeer, communication specialist at WWF-Canada, [email protected], 416-489-4567 Ext. 7298; Emily Giles, Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre, [email protected]