State investigating turtle deaths along St. Johns River
State wildlife officials are investigating a string of turtle deaths across Central and North Florida and are asking the public to report sightings of dead or dying turtles.
Since early March, more than 100 dead or dying freshwater turtles have been reported to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in counties along the St. Johns River, as well as in other lakes and streams in the region. Although most of the turtles have been Florida softshells, the wildlife commission also has received reports of dead river cooters.
Now commission biologists and veterinarians are charged with the task of figuring out what’s killing the turtles and whether the turtle deaths are related.
“We’re doing everything we can to try to get ahead of the issue and try to prevent any further deaths,” said Brooke Talley, herpetology conservation coordinator for the Wildlife Commission and a member of the review panel the agency set up to study the turtle deaths. “The first step is to try to identify what’s causing this.”
Nothing external appeared wrong with the turtles collected so far, said Talley, and they’ve seen no signs of obvious infection.
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Photo from Festive Coquette.
