The Terrapins Have Awoken!

Terrapins, turtles that spent time on land and in water, do not hibernate. Instead, they undergo a period of brumation where they lay dormant and are completely inactive. This happens over the winter months, and March is when these reptiles usually re-emerge. For a good few years now, there has been a small population of red-eared sliders on the lake at Tooting Common. They are a semi-aquatic species of turtle, and they are the most traded turtle species in the world! This species has rapidly spread all over the world as an invasive species, due to escapes and releases from being pets.

Local resident Benjamin, spotted one of the terrapins coming out of brumation this week.

He said: “Despite locking ourselves out of the house we had an exciting expedition through the wilderness of the common and spotted a red eared terrapin on the bank away from the path. It was very still, but definitely alive with some tail movements and a few little head wiggles. We had never seen them before in Tooting but after some researching, it’s apparent they’ve been spotted many times over recent years.”

As far as I am aware, there are at least five individuals that live in and around the lake. It is great to have some reptiles on the lake, and although they are an invasive species, it seems that they are living harmoniously with the other species in the area. In summer, the group are often fantastically arranged on a log, half submerged in the water, all sunbathing in a row! In fact, these sliders get their name from the distinctive way in which they slide off logs into the water. Turtles regulate their body temperatures from external sources of heat like the sun, so this is a really important behaviour for them to exhibit.

Although this species is charismatic and attracts quite a lot of attention from visitors, it is important that we take some steps to protect this species, so that we can all continue to enjoy their presence.

Unfortunately, as they are such a common exotic pet species, there have been many instances where red eared sliders have been removed from the wild, and transported back to people’s homes to continue their lives as pets. It goes without saying that this is not what we should be doing, and we must leave them to continue their lives in the wild, regardless of where they originated from. We also must not interfere with their habitat, including sunbathing spots, as they are key to their survival.

A big thank you to Benjamin for sharing his sighting, and providing an image for this nature note- we hope to see the rest of this group emerge from brumation soon!

If you’d like to learn more about terrapins, please see this information provided by Dudley Zoo: https://www.dudleyzoo.org.uk/animal/terrapin-red-eared/