Western Painted Turtle Recovery Program | Greater Vancouver Zoo News

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Western Painted Turtle Recovery Program

British Columbia this is YOUR turtle.  The Western Painted Turtle Conservation project at GVZoo alongside Wildlife Preservation Canada has reached a significant milestone this year.  Over 700 turtles have been released since the program began in 2012, just in 2020 we are on track to release 200.


The Western Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta bellii) is the only remaining native pond turtle left in B.C and has a wide distribution in western North America. In British Columbia, there are two populations of the Western Painted Turtle: the Intermountain - Rocky Mountain Population in the southern interior and Pacific Coast Population in the southwest.



In 2006 the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) listed the Pacific Coast Population of the Western Painted Turtle as endangered. The Intermountain - Rocky Mountain Population of the Western Painted Turtle is listed as Special Concern in Canada.

The coastal population can be found in the Lower Fraser Valley and the Sunshine Coast on the mainland and on Vancouver Island and some of the Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia. The Intermountain population can be found in the Okanagan Valley, Kamloops Lake, Shuswap Lake, and the Creston and Nelson Area.

The dense population and highly modified southwestern part of British Columbia has overlapped with the distribution of the Pacific Coast population. The Western Painted Turtle requires wetland habitats for foraging and hibernation and suitable warm sites on land for egg-laying.

A short supply of suitable habitats due to urban development, drainage of wetlands, forestry, road building, and other human activities are a limiting factor for this species and other freshwater turtles.


Support your local Zoo's for local conservation initiatives.

WPC here: https://wildlifepreservation.ca/blog/category/freshwater-turtles/western-painted-turtle/

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