Turtles - Newest Addition to Children's' Zoo

It's been an hopeful year for the threatened black-breasted leaf turtles at the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo. Female turtle Willow laid three eggs last winter. The first tiny turtle, named Gamera, made its appearance on May 8. Then, on June 24, Morla hatched from the second egg. The next day, Ketinga (whose name means "third" in an Indonesian language) hatched from the last egg. These are the first-ever of this species to hatch at the Zoo.

Their hatching is important because these and many other Asian turtle species are threatened with extinction. They are aggressively collected for the manufacture of traditional Chinese medicine. About 120 black-breasted leaf turtles live in captivity in United States zoos.

The hatchlings begin life about the size of a half-dollar coin. For now, they spend most of their time burrowed under damp moss in shoebox-sized containers behind the scenes at the zoo, where they are carefully monitored by zoo keepers. Their mother, Willow, is in the Indonesian Rain Forest exhibit at the zoo.

These new additions to the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo are just three of the experience offered this year at the zoo. The Fort Wayne Children's Zoo will be open daily from 9 to 5 until Oct. 15th when it will be closed for the season.