Eleven baby spotted turtles are now the responsibility of Calvin University biology students.
Jocelyn Nieze is excited to have the animal handling experience required for veterinarian school applications
“If you could get 300 hours doing dogs and cats, that’s great, but they’re looking for reptiles and exotic work too and this is a really unique experience because it’s really hard to get those exotic animal hours.”
Students will raise the turtles, monitor growth and place trackers on them before releasing them into the wild in April.
Dr. Will Miller, associate professor of biology and a certified wildlife biologist, is overseeing the Calvin project.
“They’re taking actual data that will be used by actual scientists – they get to be the actual scientists in this.”
John Ball Zoo’s conservation manager Bill Flanagan says the partnership is the latest in the Great Lakes Rare Turtle Program, addressing threats to local species while training the next generation of conservationists.
He hopes the head-starting process will nurture bigger, stronger and turtles, less vulnerable to predators.
“Did it increase their survivorship? Do these head-started turtles do normal turtle things they’re supposed to do? That’s what we’ve seen with other species of turtles but spotted turtles are one we just don’t know yet.”
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