Blue Ridge Country September/October 2021 - 13

CREATURE FEATURE
SECRETING AWAY IN APPALACHIAN 'FENS'
Mucking About
Thankfully, the endangered bog turtle is a master at hiding.
By NANCY HENDERSON | Photo by AMY BURGESS
he bog turtle-the smallest in
North America-is so tiny that
even experts like Michael Ogle
have trouble spotting them. " I
can't tell you how many dozens I've
walked past in my life, never having a
clue, because they're so secretive, " says the
herpetology curator at Zoo Knoxville, where efforts are
underway to protect the endangered species. " When
you're three to four inches, literally anything can eat
you, so they have to be extra shy to keep going. "
Generally found among sedge mounds, sphagnum
moss and cinnamon ferns in peat-accumulating wetlands
called fens-which are fed by underground springs
in the mountainous areas of only a handful of Appalachian
states-the low-profile reptile with the chocolate
brown carapace likes to tunnel through the mud.
" It's not until you step into [one of the wet areas]
that you step into the peat soil, " Ogle says. " We call it
muck because you just kind of get stuck in it. It can go
from ankle-deep to waist-deep pretty quickly. "
Like most turtles, the bog species is long-lived. " We
T
Zoo Knoxville has been a leader in these conservation
have turtles that were first discovered in [Tennessee] in
1986 and they're still alive and breeding, " Ogle says.
" They were hatched probably in the mid- to late-1970s,
and some might be older than that. "
Despite its longevity, the bog turtle has appeared on
the U.S. Endangered Species list since 1997. Believed to
be quite common before settlers began draining wetlands
to make room for farms, the populations were
separated from each other by agricultural practices in
the 1800s and became increasingly isolated in the 20th
century when golf courses and residential developments
destroyed even more habitat. The rare reptiles are also
prized by poachers and collectors in the black-market
pet trade.
Ogle estimates there are currently fewer than 5,000
bog turtles in the Blue Ridge region. Most live in North
Carolina and Virginia, with 150 to 200 in Tennessee.
Understandably, the exact whereabouts of the animals
are kept under wraps.
To combat the decline, The Nature Conservancy, federal
and state agencies and other groups have been purchasing
land to preserve and removing invasive plants
that threaten to take over.
efforts since 1986, when staff herpetologist Bern Tryon
discovered the first bog turtles in Tennessee. Until his
passing in 2011, he conducted a number of mark-recapture
studies and oversaw a breeding program that has
since released 180 specimens into the wild. Under Tryon's
watch, the zoo's recovery project received awards
from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
About two years ago, the program expanded to North
Carolina. Ogle and his colleagues " head-start " baby
turtles measuring just under the size of a quarter and
weighing only four grams from eggs gathered in the Tar
Heel state. Approximately 15 bog turtles have been reintroduced
there.
The Tennessee project is showing signs of success,
even in areas with no previous native populations. A
while back, scientists found three separate nests, tracked
the turtles and concluded that the majority of their eggs
hatched. Recovery doesn't happen quickly, Ogle points
out, especially since bog turtles lay only two to four eggs
each year and are slow to mature and reproduce.
" It just goes to show that it takes dedication and time
and not giving up. "
Bog turtles play an important role in the ecosystem
by digging trails used by other animals, eating pest insects
and spreading cranberries from seeds.
" They were here before us, " says Ogle. " We've destroyed
so much of their land. They were a unique turtle
found only in the United States, so I think we owe it to
them to undo the wrongs that we've done. "
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021 13
Blue Ridge Country September/October 2021

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