Cute turtles killing lake eco-system in Bengaluru

When Sanjeev Pednekar, wildlife activist, was in the process of cleaning Yediyur lake and Sankey tank in Bengaluru, he was surprised to find hundreds of turtles.

These turned out to be red-eared sliders, classified as terrapins, a small species of turtle native to Mexico and South America.

“When they are small, they are the size of a five-rupee coin. Children who see it at an aquarium demand one,” says Sharath R Babu, honorary wildlife warden at BBMP.

“They are sold as coin turtles at cheap prices. People don’t realise they grow to 10 to 12 inches. Residential aquariums soon become too small for them. They also have huge appetites and excrete in aquariums, and their owners ultimately want to get rid of them,” says Pednekar.

“There are instances when owners are bitten when they are cleaning the aquarium,” Babu says, adding that this makes a bad pet.

These animals are carriers of salmonella bacteria. “When children try to touch the turtles or put their hands in the water, they are at risk of serious infections,” he says.

Many owners set their pet terrapins free in lakes, thinking they are doing the creatures a favour.

Pednekar and Babu explain that the terrapins are an invasive species, and usually out-compete native species and destroy the ecosystem of the lake.

“They are a dominant species. They are omnivores, so they eat everything from aquatic plants to fish. They also multiply fast. This usually results in a food scarcity for fish and other animals living in these lakes,” he said.

‘Trachemys scripta elegans’ is classified as one of the 100 most invasive species in the world by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

“They also display traits of cannibalism — this would mean that in the absence of food, they are likely to survive by eating members of their own species, or even other
native turtle species,” Pednekar explains.

Sneha Dharawadkar who works for Centre for Wildlife, studying and documenting the freshwater turtle species of India said that as these terrapins grow in a very protected environment and develop diseases of their own– “when they are released into
lakes, these diseases spread to native populations of turtles and other freshwater species who haven’t had exposure to the disease and pose a serious threat.”

Most wild animals are protected under the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972, but Pednekar says there is a significant loophole: exotic pets are not protected under that law.

“The law is dicey, there is nothing to criminalise the smuggling, sale or buying of these pets,” he added.

Cartoon inspiration

Red-eared sliders are popular pets in the United States, and over the years have become popular all across the world, following the release of the cartoon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.