Turtles on move across Greater Shepparton

Greater Shepparton City Council has received several reports of turtles exploring local lakes and wetlands, with the rainy conditions triggering turtles to look for safe sites to lay their eggs.


A great result was achieved on Wednesday morning when a community member reported an active turtle at Victoria Park Lake in Shepparton. Council staff attended the site and saw the turtle was nesting. Staff worked to protect the nest from predators by providing a mesh cover to ensure it was safe.

RiverConnect Project Officer Meg Pethybridge said that while this was a fantastic result, there would be plenty more nesting turtles at risk of predators.

“There are three species of freshwater turtle who live in Greater Shepparton, the Eastern Long-Necked, Broad-Shelled and Murray River,” she said.

“Nesting for these turtles typically occurs around November and December, during or after a rain event. Turtles will travel long distances to lay their eggs and are most active early in the mornings. Unfortunately it is known that foxes predate on about 95 per cent of freshwater turtle nests.”

Turtle nests are usually very hard for humans to find, however foxes can smell the eggs when they are freshly laid and when the eggs hatch whilst in the ground. Protecting a nest immediately after the turtle has left greatly improves the babies’ chances of survival.

Tatura Turtles Volunteer Yvette Williams said while it was rare for humans to spot nesting turtles, it’s important that community members who come across the nesting event to report it.

“We record sightings on the TurtleSAT app to help researchers across Australia monitor turtle populations and we encourage residents to use this app to help with turtle protection,” she said.

“We also arrange protection of nests to ensure that the hatchlings have the best chance of surviving. Please contact the Tatura Turtles page on Facebook if you see a turtle in the Tatura area.”

If you find a nesting turtle:

  • Guard her until she’s finished laying (15 – 30 minutes) and then carry her back to the closest suitable water body.

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