Turtles Forever: Securing populations of Bell's Turtle (Myuchelys bellii)

Abstract

<p>The 'Turtles Forever' project aims to secure populations of the threatened Bell's Turtle (<i>Myuchelys bellii</i>), a short-necked freshwater turtle restricted to upland streams in the Namoi, Gwydir and Border Rivers (NSW and QLD). A consortium of partners with expertise in land-management, turtle conservation and research, actively manage, protect and monitor remaining populations. Innovations such as a sniffer dog that detects nesting sites so that eggs can be protected from fox predation using exclusion mesh, and the development of an <i>ex- situ</i> incubation program for eggs are key actions to recover and secure this threatened turtle.</p>