Nature

European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis)

The pond turtle lives in ponds, lakes, marshes and slow-flowing, vegetated rivers in lowland areas of Central and Southern Europe. It spends most of its life under the water surface, where it can stay even for one hour without coming out for air. There, the turtle preys upon water insects, snails, frogs, fish, and sometimes even small mammals and birds. However, on sunny days it likes to go out on land and take advantage of the heat, just like on the photo. In autumn it digs itself deep in the ooze at the bottom of the water reservoir and enters the hibernation stage which lasts as long as until April or May. Spring is the time of mating. In May or June fertilized females go out on land to search for an appropriate place for their burrow and laying eggs. Sometimes they go as far as 5 kilometres away from the water. 6 to 16 little turtles, 2,5 centimetres long, hatch in late August from buried and abandoned eggs. They start a dangerous journey to water reservoirs. During the following 6 years, before their shell becomes fully solid, they are unprotected and prone to attacks by badgers, foxes or minks. Adult turtles weigh around 1 kilogram, their shell is ca. 20 centimetres long and they don’t have natural enemies – they can live up to 120 years. During this time their main threat is human activity: melioration and drainage of wetland areas, pollution of rivers and lakes, regulation of river beds, as well as intensive tourism in their habitats and breeding sites. The pond turtle is today a very rare species, threatened with extinction.

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