Science

Rare Alligator Snapping Turtles Slow To Make A Comeback

March 27th, 2015

Alligator snapping turtles have been protected in Georgia since 1992, but a recent survey shows their numbers still haven’t bounced back.

The turtles – not to be confused with common snapping turtles – only live in rivers and streams that feed into the Gulf of Mexico.

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources surveyed alligator snapping turtles in the Flint River last year, and just released the numbers. In four months, researchers only found 56 of them. That’s just a bit more than they found 25 years earlier.

“I guess I was optimistic that we’d see a better change by this point,” John Jensen, a wildlife biologist with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, said. “I guess it’s just going to take longer.”

According to the DNR, the turtles don’t start reproducing until they’re at least 11 years old.

“Populations take a long time to rebound,” Jensen said.

Most threats to the turtles, which can grow to be 200 pounds, are gone now, Jensen said. But they were popular turtles for soup.

“That species was heavily targeted because it’s a really large turtle,” Jensen said. “And they’re fairly easy to catch.”

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is now considering listing the turtles under the Endangered Species Act, which is more stringent than the state’s protection.