Portland families have a very small new reason to visit the Oregon Zoo — fifteen of them, in fact. Fifteen northwestern pond turtle hatchlings, each about the size of a cherry tomato, are settling in at the zoo this season, and guests can watch them grow at the conservation lab inside the Nature Exploration Station, near the tiger and red panda habitats.
The hatchlings are getting what conservationists call a head start. Zoo staff are caring for them until next spring, when they will be big enough to have a fighting chance in the wild. Earlier this summer, the zoo team helped Washington Fish and Wildlife biologists bring the hatchlings from sites in the Columbia Gorge to the lab, where heat lamps and plenty of food make it feel like summer year-round.
Once a turtle reaches about 50 grams, it returns to its pond and is monitored — as large, keepers say, as a typical 3-year-old turtle. For kids, it is a joyful, close-up lesson in how a hometown zoo helps an endangered Northwest species bounce back. Come peer in, cheer them on, and watch Portland’s tiniest residents grow.
Photo: Oregon Zoo
