Endangered ‘bum-breathing’ Mary River turtle’s nest found in new territory

Endangered ‘bum-breathing’ Mary River turtle’s nest found in new territory

It’s a curious-looking creature with a funny nickname, but the ‘bum-breathing’ Mary River turtle in Queensland is under serious threat for survival.

Key points:

• Turtle conservationists say the discovery has come as a surprise
• The find is a silver lining to a year of low water levels in the Mary River
• It could help increase knowledge of the species

Now, the discovery of a turtle nest in an area previously thought to be outside their range has researchers intrigued, even a little hopeful.

Glimpsing a nest is a rare experience.

It involves early morning exploration along the banks of the Mary River, spotting tracks, and a lot of luck with timing.

Populations of the species have dropped by as much as 95 per cent since the 1970s and, according to the Tiaro and District Landcare Croup, is one of the world’s most vulnerable reptiles.

Conservation efforts have even attracted global interest.

The nest was found near Gympie as part of a surveillance program by the Mary River Catchment Coordinating Committee, Tiaro Landcare, and Gympie Council.

‘We’ve hit the jackpot’ silver lining to challenging year

Only found in the Mary River in south-east Queensland, the turtle can extract oxygen from the water through a gill-like structure in its cloaca, hence the nickname ‘bum-breathing’, and is one of the largest of its species in Australia.

It also became known as the ‘punk turtle’ due to its fleshy spikes under its chin and a photograph of one sporting an algae mohawk received worldwide attention several years ago.

Conservation project leader Marilyn Connell said the discovery would broaden understanding of the rare species.

“At this time the river is low in Gympie, so that provided an opportunity,” Ms Connell said.

“The stars have aligned with having extra volunteers online with monitoring river banks and the river being a bit lower at the same time we’ve hit the jackpot.

“It’s quite exciting to actually find one when you’re looking day after day … no nothing, nothing … now there are tracks, now there is a nest. Fantastic!”

Rare find creates opportunity

Ms Connell said the team did not expect to find the turtle known for its punk hairstyle and bum-breathing capability in the new location, which they have to keep secret to protect the species.

“It’s always exciting to find a new nesting site because it adds to our understanding of the distribution of the turtle and where we should be protecting and looking after particular parts of the river bank,” she said.

The addition of new volunteers this year had allowed the team to look further afield.

“Some banks may have up to 20 [nests] over the whole season, but there are a number of sites where only one turtle will lay for the whole season,” Ms Connell said.

“Once we know that a particular site is used, you can just keep going back.”

The team will monitor the nest and once the eggs hatch they will analyse and record the number of hatchlings.