by Ben Wurst, Senior Wildlife Biologist
This past Monday I joined several partners to release a very special northern diamondback terrapin back into the wild. This adult female terrapin had been illegally collected and sold into the black market pet trade. Over the past couple years we have been working on a plan to get her back the wild.
Each of these partners, including Dr. John Wnek, MATES/Project Terrapin, Kelly Scott, NJ State Park Service, Brian Zarate, NJDEP Fish & Wildlife played an important role in her successful release (you can read about each of their roles in a story by Dr. Wnek below). We gathered in the parking lot of a former marina which CWF & NJDEP Fish & Wildlife converted into suitable nesting habitat for female terrapins. For all of us, I think it’s safe to say that it was bittersweet to see her swim off into the brackish water. She was home.
I can’t believe that the last time that we encountered her in the wild was a decade ago (June 9, 2013). This is when we were just beginning to record data on adult females that we encountered on Great Bay Blvd. Our goal was to collect data on their size and other morphometrics to compare to previous studies on the road. We also wanted to look for recaptures of previously marked terrapins to determine their age and site fidelity. Bayley or ACIJV was a terrapin that Ashley Hecht, our summer research intern recaptured that summer (along with three others who were previously marked). She was originally captured and marked on June 20, 2008 by Claire Sheridan w/ Drexel University.
That year was the last that Bayley/ACIJV was observed in the wild. After that, she was taken by a person and sold into the black market pet trade. From working closely with law enforcement after the indictment of a Pennsylvania man who poached a large number of terrapin eggs from within our project area, we know that the demand for terrapins as pets is huge.
Terrapins are a gorgeous species who should be admired in the wild and not collected to bring home as a pet. Since being afforded protection as a nongame species in New Jersey, demand for terrapins has only grown. Many native turtle species are in danger from illegal collection, which has increased in recent years due to local and worldwide demand.
Turtles are extremely vulnerable, as they already face many threats from habitat loss and fragmentation, road mortality, drowning in crab pots, and human-subsidized predators (crows, red fox and raccoons for terrapins). In addition, terrapins and other turtles take a very long time (around 8-10 years) to reach sexual maturity and have low survival rates of hatchlings (only around 1-3% have a chance of surviving to adulthood). Here in New Jersey, terrapins play an important role in our coastal ecosystem. They act as a keystone species and as a predator of the saltmarsh, they help control many herbivorous invertebrates, like fiddler crabs and snails that feed on vegetation that is essential to maintaining a healthy saltmarsh environment. Our coast is already under threat from sea level rise, increased flood events, and shorelines erosion.
We can all help ensure terrapins thrive by being aware when driving in coastal areas during their nesting season (May-July), not moving them long distances (to somewhere safe), using BRDs on ALL recreational crab pots, leaving soft shorelines for females to find suitable nest sites, and NEVER taking them home to keep as a pet. If you do see someone taking a terrapin then you should collect information about that person (vehicle plate #, description of person) and report them to 1-877-WARN-DEP.
Below is a story by Dr. John Wnek about Bayley’s long journey home, which was published in the Diamondback Terrapin Working Group Newsletter in Winter 2020.
“Bayley” is a captive, female diamondback terrapin that is housed at the Nature Center at Island Beach State Park, NJ. She is sharing a display with another female terrapin, “Ellie” that cannot be released back to the wild as she has a vision problem. Bayley’s story is about her journey from the wild into captivity and trying to get back home. It started with an email on October 14, 2019 by Barbara Brennessel through the Diamondback Terrapin Working Group list-serve with a posted PIT tag code of a diamondback terrapin that was housed in Maine and purchased at a reptile expo. Barbara reached out to determine if “this female (terrapin) was tagged in anyone’s study?” The PIT tag (492A5C6462) was scanned by Dr. Laura Leighton, VMD, contacted the New England Aquarium that started the correspondence with Barbara to identify any study that may have marked the captive female terrapin. On October 15, 2019 we identified the female terrapin as being originally marked on June 20, 2008 by Claire Sheridan as part of a Barnegat Bay study under Principal Investigator Harold W. Avery. At the time of her initial capture she was aged at 7 years (using plastron annuli) and weighed 805 grams. Since, she was subsequently recaptured in 2013 by Ben Wurst, Biologist, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey, who is coordinating a terrapin population study at Great Bay Boulevard. Since that time, there was nothing known about Bayley until 2019, but she was a victim of the illegal pet trade and possibly used in captive breeding.
Special Agents from US Fish and Wildlife Service worked with NJDEP Fish and Wildlife Conservation Police Officers and the Endangered and Nongame Species Program to obtain more details on where Bayley may have been housed and sold. Prior to 2016, New Jersey had a seasonal harvest on terrapins which was legal from the end of November through March each year as long as the terrapins were at least 5” (carapace length) and not taken using dredges, nets, rakes, and other mechanical means; however, legislation was passed that was signed into law by NJ Governor Chris Christie in July 2016, making it illegal to harvest terrapins. There was a specific incident prior to 2016 that moved this law when over 4300 terrapins were harvested and sold to a breeding facility in Maryland over a two year period of time. It was determined that the first year, 3500 terrapins (mostly adult females) were legally captured, but the following year, it was determined that the hundreds of terrapins were taken using illegal dredging practices.
Since the illegal harvest law in 2016, there has been a case where Dave Sommers, Pennsylvania, illegally dug up terrapin eggs and took adult females from Great Bay Boulevard, the same location where “Bayley” was taken. After an investigation during the summer of 2017 by NJ Division of Wildlife Conservation Officers, in August 2019, Dave Sommers was prosecuted and sentenced to six months in prison, six month probation, and a $250,000 restitution fine for possessing over 3400 diamondback terrapins (adult females and hatchlings) at his home in Levittown, PA. This activity by Dave Sommers took place over five years. The exact date and year that Bayley was taken is uncertain; however, her captivity led her to Tennessee, Massachusetts and eventually Maine, where she was identified and surrendered. Bayley is currently housed at The Nature Center at Island Beach State Park, New Jersey.
Thanks to Jordan Gray of the Turtle Survival Alliance, Bayley was transported back to New Jersey where she was received by the Marine Academy of Technology and Environmental Science (MATES) Project Terrapin, NJ. It was determined by wildlife biologists and terrapin experts that she needed to be quarantined and evaluated for health to be considered for release back into the wild. The Nature Center at Island Beach State Park was an ideal location to house Bayley. At IBSP, she was named during a social media campaign to promote awareness of her captive status. New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife biologist Brian Zarate, along with Dr. Nicole Lewis, veterinarian, established a protocol for Bayley’s potential release, which included a health assessment component. The goal was to assess 30 wild adult terrapins from the Great Bay population, along with Bayley and her tank mate, Ellie. All terrapins were tested for Ranavirus, Her-pesvirus, blood parasites, fecal pathogens, blood chemistry and Mycoplasma spp. Both Bayley and Ellie were negative for all tests, and the 30 wild individual test results indicate that the health conditions are conducive for Bayley’s release back to the wild. However, it was recommended that Bayley quarantine longer and we develop a release plan to transition her gradually into the system and find a way to monitor her long-term progress. We will keep you updated on Bayley’s progress as this case study will serve as a model for introducing adult diamondback terrapins back into the population. It also emphasizes the importance of mark and recapture studies, and how one PIT tag can lead to an illegally captured terrapin getting back home.
Dr. John Wnek, DTWG Newsletter, Winter 2020
>> Learn more about our Great Bay Terrapin Project
Tags: bayley, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey, illegal collecting, New Jersey, NJ, poaching, terrapin, turtle, wildlife
What an incredible story and such a beautiful terrapin!! Thankfully a tragedy was averted when Bayley was discovered and brought back to NJ healthy and ready to return to the wild. I will look forward to updates if she is seen again! Although I work primarily with raptors now, during the 80s we fostered and cared for turtles and terrapins for the herpetologist at the Turtle Back Zoo!