(Chelsea Update would like to thank Tom Hodgson and the Waterloo Natural History Association for the information and photos in this story.)
June is the month that turtles lay their eggs. It is also hen more than 90 percent of those eggs are dug up and eaten by skunks and raccoons.
This year, as has been the case in previous years, volunteers from the Waterloo Natural History Association came to the rescue. Volunteers collected about 200 turtle eggs before the predators could find them, and they were incubated in Styrofoam coolers filled with damp sand.
Now, they are now beginning to hatch.
The eggs are on display at the Discovery Center and will be hatching over the next two to three weeks. Soon after the turtles hatch they will be released into local lakes near where the eggs were found. Historically, hatching success by this incubation method is about 70 percent – a great improvement over the two-to-three percent success rate in the wild.
Everyone is invited to witness this fascinating event.
The Discovery Center is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and from noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
A recreation passport is required for entry, and can be purchased at the Discovery Center.
