These Crazy Cute Baby Turtles Want Their Lake Back | Deep Look

Turtles grow up without parents, which might sound lonely. But for threatened baby turtles raised in a zoo it’s an advantage: they can learn to catch crickets all by themselves. There’s a paradox, though. When they are ready to leave the nursery, there is little wilderness where they can make a home.

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Read more on baby turtles:
https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2....016/01/26/these-craz


Where do turtles live?
Western pond turtles live most of their lives in the water, in freshwater lakes.


What do turtles eat?
The meat-eaters feed on crustaceans like crayfish, dragonfly nymphs and fish.


Are turtles reptiles?
Turtles are reptiles not amphibians. They are considered reptiles since they live in water.


Are turtles endangered?
"There are only 300 species, and most of them are doing quite poorly." The turtles haven’t been doing well in their native habitat in the western United States. In California, they’re a species of “special concern.”


Why can turtles be raised in zoos?
Most turtle species grow up without parents, which makes them easy to raise in zoos and help conservation. Once a female western pond turtle lays her eggs near a lake or pond, she never returns to the nest. Because they lack parental care, turtles don’t imprint on zoo keepers.


More great Deep Look episodes:

Nature's Scuba Divers: How Beetles Breathe Underwater:
https://youtu.be/T-RtG5Z-9jQ

Nature's Mood Rings: How Chameleons Really Change Color:
https://youtu.be/Kp9W-_W8rCM

Newt Sex: Buff Males! Writhing Females! Cannibalism!
https://youtu.be/5m37QR_4XNY


See also another great video from the PBS Digital Studios!

It's Okay to Be Smart:
https://youtu.be/fWc46NCnldo

If you’re in the San Francisco Bay Area, The San Francisco Zoo is currently head-starting nine western pond turtle hatchlings and the Oakland Zoo, 16. The baby turtles at the San Francisco Zoo are on display in the Children’s Zoo, while the Oakland Zoo is raising theirs in a back room where six small tubs create the impression of a maternity ward.
http://www.sfzoo.org/
http://oaklandzoo.org/


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Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, which is also supported by HopeLab, the David B. Gold Foundation, the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Vadasz Family Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Smart Family Foundation and the members of KQED.
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