Abandoned pet turtles are wreaking havoc in New York City ponds, growing unusually large

Central Park and other parks across New York City are being invaded by pesky red-eared sliders – the most popular turtle in the American pet trade. 

The turtles, native to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico, are bred by turtle farmers and sold wholesale to retailers. While more than 52 million were legally exported from the United States – mainly to China – many are sold illegally through pet shops, street vendors and websites. 

The reptiles are designated as one of the world’s hundred worst invasive species by the IUCN, National Geographic reports. Pet owners will often realize that the maintenance to take care of the turtles can be overwhelming and dump the turtles out in the wild. 

The turtles, native to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico, are bred by turtle farmers and sold wholesale to retailers. But a huge bulk of them are sold illegally and then abandoned out in the wild 

Morningside Park Pond, located in Upper Manhattan, is being especially invaded by the turtles

Morningside Park Pond, located in Upper Manhattan, is being especially invaded by the turtles

Morningside Park Pond, located in Upper Manhattan, is being especially invaded by the turtles – named after the bright red marks on their head that resemble ears.

Roughly 90 per cent of the sliders in the pond were formally pets to New Yorkers, says Allen Salzberg, publisher of the HerpDigest Newsletter. Salzberg is also a longtime member of the nonprofit New York Turtle and Tortoise Society. 

And New York isn’t the only place being invaded by the turtles: red-eared sliders are in every state and have even made it as far as Hawaii.

Roughly 90 per cent of the sliders in the pond were formally pets to New Yorkers, says Allen Salzberg, publisher of the HerpDigest Newsletter

Roughly 90 per cent of the sliders in the pond were formally pets to New Yorkers, says Allen Salzberg, publisher of the HerpDigest Newsletter

It is unknown exactly how large the turtle population is but iNaturalist app users have documented tens of thousands of verified red-eared slider observations in almost all residential and urban regions in the U.S. over the last decade. 

Salzberg describes the turtles as being ‘total optimists,’ which explains why they’ve adapted so well to NYC. 

‘They make the most of whatever they have,’ he added of the reptiles. 

Red-eared sliders can lives months without food, which allows them to slow their metabolism to conserve energy during trying times. But the turtles grow extensively when their food source is in abundance. 

Morningside Park has ample food for the turtles, explaining why so many are found to be overweight with unusually thick legs and necks. 

Native species have suffered as a result of the turtles’ scavenger like eating tendencies. 

Several turtles coexist in New York’s ecosystem, including: spotted turtles, musk turtles, map turtles, bog turtles, wood turtles, painted turtles, Eastern mud turtles and diamondback terrapins. 

Eastern painted turtles have faced the brunt of the red-eared sliders invasion, with their populations declining in areas across the city.

‘There’s a pond in Central Park … named Turtle Pond,’ Salzberg said. ‘I used to go to that pond and see a nice number of painted turtles and snapping turtles. Now it’s all sliders. My wife and I saw one painted turtle in there two years ago.’

The waters in the Upper Manhattan pond are at fault, as well, as they have an abundance of phytoplankton – microscopic plants that cause bright green algae blooms. 

Morningside Park has ample food for the turtles, explaining why so many are found to be overweight with unusually thick legs and necks.

Morningside Park has ample food for the turtles, explaining why so many are found to be overweight with unusually thick legs and necks.

The phytoplankton feed off nutrients in animal waste and the algae bloom then consumes oxygen while blocking sunlight, harmful to creatures in the area. 

The turtles in Morningside Park were placed mostly by their owners and in New York City, pet release is prohibited by law. 

Park rangers would need to monitor parks 24/7 in order to enforce such a law, however, according to Christopher Joya. Joya is a middle school teacher and volunteer with Urban Utopia Wildlife Rehabilitation, a New York City-based network of state-licensed wildlife rehabilitators.

He had a student retrieve a turtle from Prospect Park only to discover that it would be nearly impossible to get the reptile to a shelter as they aren’t enough spaces for them.

Joya kept the turtle, spending hundreds to buy a 50-gallon tank. They named the turtle Peace. 

The turtles in Morningside Park were placed mostly by their owners and in New York City, pet release is prohibited by law.

The turtles in Morningside Park were placed mostly by their owners and in New York City, pet release is prohibited by law.

Native species have suffered as a result of the turtles' scavenger like eating tendencies

Native species have suffered as a result of the turtles’ scavenger like eating tendencies

There are health risks with owning red-eared sliders as they are prone to carry salmonella. 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration passed the ‘Four-inch Law’ in 1975, prohibiting the sale of turtles with carapaces fewer than four inches wide. 

According to Salzberg, the length was decided because the FDA theorized that small children wouldn’t be able to shove entire baby turtles in their mouths. 

The 1975 regulation limited the sale of the turtles in pet stores but underground pet shops in New York City’s Chinatown continue to sell the young turtles, illegally. 

Street vendors across in most of the boroughs sale the baby turtles and the reptiles can even be found online. As of 2020, there were at least 20 websites that sold them illegally under four inches wide.   

There are health risks with owning red-eared sliders as they are prone to carry salmonella

There are health risks with owning red-eared sliders as they are prone to carry salmonella

‘Young parents will be walking through Chinatown with their kid and the kid goes, Mommy! Mommy! Look at that cute little turtle! And next thing they know, they’re stuck with a pet for 50 to 60 years,’ Salzberg stated.

Joya and Salzbeg feel that there is no perfect solution for curbing the red-eared slider problem in the city, besides educating children about responsible pet ownership. There are Facebook groups dedicated to rehoming turtles, but supply is often higher than demand.

Joya’s last resort is humane euthanasia.  

‘I’m sorry if this upsets anyone, but…’ Joya said. ‘Actually, scratch that. I’m not sorry. Because you should have done your research when you got the turtle in the first place.’

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