Shello, world! Tennessee Aquarium hopes new turtle hatchlings will prop up endangered species

An endangered turtle hatchling entered the world at the Tennessee Aquarium recently. / Photo by Bill Hughes, provided by the Tennessee Aquarium
An endangered turtle hatchling entered the world at the Tennessee Aquarium recently. / Photo by Bill Hughes, provided by the Tennessee Aquarium
photo Four endangered turtle hatchlings entered the world at the Tennessee Aquarium recently, helping stave off extinction for the Four-eyed Turtle (Left two hatchlings) and the Beal's Four-eyed Turtle (Right two hatchlings). / Photo by Bill Hughes and provided by the Tennessee Aquarium

The Tennessee Aquarium has welcomed four new turtles to its family, an effort it hopes will help protect their species against extinction.

In a statement Monday, aquarium officials announced that two four-eyed turtles and two Beale's four-eyed, both endangered species, hatched in May.

The aquarium previously made national headlines in 2007 for hatching a Beale's four-eyed turtle, one of only 18 individuals of this Southeast Asian species known to be cared for at a facility accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums at the time, according to a news release. With the addition of these hatchlings, the aquarium has successfully added 17 more Beale's to that tally, almost doubling the population being cared for at AZA-accredited institutions.

During the same period, the aquarium hatched 40 four-eyed turtles, a species that has been listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature since 2000.

photo Four endangered turtle hatchlings entered the world at the Tennessee Aquarium recently, helping stave off extinction for the Four-eyed Turtle (Left two hatchlings) and the Beal's Four-eyed Turtle (Right two hatchlings). / Photo by Bill Hughes and provided by the Tennessee Aquarium


Even after so many years of success, Senior Herpetologist Bill Hughes said in a statement, it's still exciting to see the arrival of these tiny turtles, which usually hatch between late May and early June.

"I still find it cool to see a baby turtle hatching," he said. "I'd like to see more baby turtles hatching, so one is better than none, and having four successful hatchlings in one season is amazing."

As the manager of Species Survival Plans for both turtle species, Hughes helps to strengthen the health of the population housed in animal care institutions by pairing individuals together to produce genetically robust offspring, the release states.

Especially for animals with populations as limited as those of four-eyed and Beale's four-eyed turtles, ensuring a healthy degree of genetic diversity is vital to survivability. That makes every successful breeding of wild-caught individuals with unrepresented genes even more important, Hughes says.

photo Four endangered turtle hatchlings entered the world at the Tennessee Aquarium recently, helping stave off extinction for the Four-eyed Turtle (Left two hatchlings) and the Beal's Four-eyed Turtle (Right two hatchlings). Photo by Bill Hughes, provided by the Tennessee Aquarium


"Every year, one of my goals is to have more representation of founders, so if I hatch one, that's more representation," he said. "All of the wild-collected adults among the population in human care are genetically valuable and good for genetic diversity."

Four-eyed turtles and Beale's four-eyed turtles are so named for the false eye spots on top of their heads. Both species belong to the genus Sacalia and are native to Southeast Asia, where their numbers have been declining due to habitat loss and over-collection from the wild.

Despite having produced dozens of hatchlings, successfully breeding these endangered turtle species is a significant challenge. Unlike some turtle species that can produce multiple clutches of eggs annually, Four-eyed and Beale's Four-eyed Turtles lay only a single clutch of two to three eggs each year. Once the eggs arrive, hatchlings aren't guaranteed. Changes to ambient temperature and humidity or any number of other carefully controlled environmental factors could negatively impact their viability.

That inherent difficulty makes each healthy hatchling feel like a victory, Hughes said.

photo Four endangered turtle hatchlings entered the world at the Tennessee Aquarium recently, helping stave off extinction for the Four-eyed Turtle (Left two hatchlings) and the Beal's Four-eyed Turtle (Right two hatchlings). / Photo by Bill Hughes, provided by the Tennessee Aquarium


"If I have a bad year, in terms of breeding, I have to wait a year to try again. This is playing the long game," he says. "When one hatches, you feel like you've conquered a challenge; you've won."

Over the years, the aquarium has sent its Beale's four-eyed turtle and four-eyed turtle hatchlings to institutions across the country, including the Knoxville Zoo and the Bronx Zoo in New York City.

Hughes said by spreading the population between many different institutions, the species, as a whole, is even better secured against the possibility of extinction.

"There are lots of these turtles at the aquarium, so if a chasm opened up and swallowed this building, then there wouldn't be that many left, but there are a few that are spread out at other institutions," he said. "We're not keeping all of our eggs in one basket, so to speak.

"And despite the fact that they don't get big, these turtles do take up some room, so you can't keep them all. You have to share the love."

Upcoming Events