Ljubljana Marshes home to only native freshwater turtle in Slovenia
Ljubljana, 24 August - Known for its rich biodiversity, Slovenia is also home to the European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis), the only freshwater turtle native to the country. Since this globally endangered species is faced with a number of threats, the Ljubljana Marshes Nature Park is making efforts to enhance its population by protecting its nests.
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Ponds in the Draga Valley in the Ljubljana Marshes Nature Park, the habitat of the European pond turtle, the only freshwater turtle native to Slovenia.
Photo: Manca Ahčin/STA
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Nature conservationist Ana Tratnik from the Ljubljana Marshes Nature Park.
Photo: Manca Ahčin/STA
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Ponds in the Draga Valley in the Ljubljana Marshes Nature Park, the habitat of the European pond turtle, the only freshwater turtle native to Slovenia.
Photo: Manca Ahčin/STA
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Net-protected nest of the European pond turtle.
Photo: Ljubljana Marshes Nature Park
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Net-protected nest of the European pond turtle.
Photo: Ljubljana Marshes Nature Park
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A European pond turtle.
Photo: Ljubljana Marshes Nature Park
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One-year-old European pond turtle.
Photo: Ljubljana Marshes Nature Park
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Ponds in the Draga Valley in the Ljubljana Marshes Nature Park, the habitat of the European pond turtle, the only freshwater turtle native to Slovenia.
Photo: Manca Ahčin/STA
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Ponds in the Draga Valley in the Ljubljana Marshes Nature Park, the habitat of the European pond turtle, the only freshwater turtle native to Slovenia.
Photo: Manca Ahčin/STA
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Nature conservationist Ana Tratnik from the Ljubljana Marshes Nature Park.
Photo: Manca Ahčin/STA
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An egg of the European pond turtle and offspring.
Photo: Ljubljana Marshes Nature Park
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Net-protected nest of the European pond turtle.
Photo: Ljubljana Marshes Nature Park
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Ponds in the Draga Valley in the Ljubljana Marshes Nature Park, the habitat of the European pond turtle, the only freshwater turtle native to Slovenia.
Photo: Manca Ahčin/STA
Ig
A female European pond turtle with an attached transmitter.
Photo: Ljubljana Marshes Nature Park
Eight Italian and two Slovenian partners, including the Ljubljana Marshes Nature Park, joined forces to monitor the European pond turtle or the European pond terrapin.
The project Life Urca Proemys, running from October 2022 to September 2027, aims to improve the status of the turtle's populations through a programme of measures at 55 Natura 2000 sites.
Ana Tratnik, a nature conservationist from the Ljubljana Marshes Nature Park, told the STA that the main threat to the turtle in the ponds in the Draga Valley in the Ljubljana Marshes near the town of Ig are predators.
"We've repeatedly observed turtles successfully laying eggs, but various predators have dug them up and eaten them."
As part of the project, nature conservationists have thus protected their nests in the Draga Valley with a special net.
"Since last year, we've been monitoring six adult females that had been fitted with trackers. Until the end of the project, every spring or early summer when the pond turtles lay eggs, we will be monitoring where they lay them and protect these nests with a special net," said Tratnik.
In two years, 18 nests have been protected in the Draga Valley, ten last year and eight this year, while the conservationists believe there are probably more of them.
In one of the nests protected last year, eleven little turtles hatched this year and dug themselves out of the nest.
"They had to work their way through about five centimetres of soil, which is very impressive for such small turtles," said Tratnik.
Yet not all eggs in the protected nests hatched last year, probably because they were flooded during last year's storms, although Tratnik said the success rate of hatching in the the wild is not really known.
What is interesting is that some turtles can even be found in the forest, far away from the pond and nests, when they are looking for new habitats or going to the next body of water.
One of the tagged animals was found near Grosuplje, some 10 kilometres away. "We don't know whether somebody took it there or it got there on its own, but it's clearly a very mobile animal," said Tratnik.
Due to the rare plant and animal species there, the area of the ponds was declared a natural monument, and with the establishment of the Ljubljana Marshes Nature Park in 2008, the ponds were declared a nature reserve.
Due to its bowl-shaped shell, the Slovenian name of the European pond turtle is "močvirska sklednica", which could be roughly translated as "swamp bowl".
The turtle is easily recognised by the numerous yellow spots all over its body. It lives in wetlands in southern and central Europe, western Asia and northern Africa.