1happyturtle
New Member
- Joined
- Jun 16, 2014
- Messages
- 23
Beloved San Jose TURTLES
RUNNING OUT OF TIME!!!!
Due to the drought in CA, Overfelt Gardens' ponds are drying out and will actually be drained by state and local officials leaving abandoned pet turtles, red-eared sliders to migrate on their own through the park, residential and industrial areas including 6 lane McKee Rd.
Michelle states that residents even with a fishing license cannot "take" turtles which is in contradiction to California Department of Fish and Wildlife News: https://cdfgnews.wordpress.com/page/2/ "For that reason, if you have a fishing license, there is no bag or possession limit for the legal take of any subspecies of pond slider (red-eared, yellow-bellied and Cumberland sliders), painted or spiny soft-shelled turtles, all of which are non-native." May 23, 2014
She also mentions that a major turtle rescue org will not help with the rescue. The org is authorized to recover and rehab native and non-native turtles. Her department will also not rescue the turtles and private individuals are not permitted to do so. Thus turtles, once the pond is drained, will naturally disperse. Unfortunately, the turtles must first scale the steep landscape from their ponds, travel the 33 acres of the park, scale a fence and face many lanes of traffic to "migrate".
Michelle Leicester District Fisheries Biologist Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara counties Cal DFW, Region 3 Office phone: (925) 933-1054[email protected]
Overfelt Gardens Park | www.sjparks.org/ | 368 Educational Park Dr, San Jose, CA 95112 (408) 251-3323
Red-eared slider turtles (RES) are mass produced for the food and pet-trade. Once they reach their full grown size they are abandoned at shelters, dumped in water ways or even natural habitats where they out compete the now endangered Western Pond turtle. There are many California based organizations which have dozens upon dozens of RES in need of loving homes in secure private ponds.
Overfelt Gardens can be seen on Google maps and Google Earth however images of the ponds are grossly inaccurate. There is very little water left and some ponds are dried out.
Solutions to this problem are to inform San Jose residents to never abandon their pets in these ponds if the drought should ever end and that their former pets now face certain death either by other wildlife in the park (racoons) or on the street where they will be traffic hazards. Lastly, if they are prepared to care for a turtle they should choose to adopt.