Become a Citizen Scientist

Thanks for downloading the TurtleSAT app, it is your gateway to becoming a Citizen Scientist. Our Turtles need your help. They have out survived dinosaurs, but we are driving them to extinction. You will see freshwater turtles in most water ways, but often you will see them hit on roads or their eggs dug up by foxes

The Australian Reptile Park and Aussie Ark have teamed up with the 1 Million Turtles Community Conservation Program to repopulate our rivers and wetlands with 1 Million Turtles throughout the country. The turtles you see here at the Conservation Ark are part of that program. You can become part of the program too.

You will be in front of the awesome Hunter River Turtle ponds. Unless it is winter, you will the turtles floating at the surface or on the logs. This is basking. They are warming their bodies because they are "ectothermic" (or what was once called "cold blooded"). Turtles do this in the wild. So watch out for them

In Spring/early Summer after rain, you might be lucky to see the females on land digging nests. They dig a hole  and deposit 15-20 eggs. They cover it up and leave. The hatchlings emerge in summer. These turtles are lucky. In the wild, foxes consume 95% of nests. Take a photo of any turtle or nest that you see. 

If at any stage you need help, ask any of the Park's staff and they will help you. We need you to be Citizen Scientists for life!! 

See a Turtle; Think TurtleSAT

Follow 1 Million Turtles and TurtleSAT on Facebook and use the hashtag #1MillionTurtles to post any photos that you took today.