Farmers are being urged to do their bit to help preserve the endangered Bell’s turtle, found only in the New England tablelands.
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Living in the upper Namoi, Gwydir, Severn and Deepwater river systems, locals saw the creatures up close in a Gwydir River kayak tour. Local Land Services project officer Kelly Twigge encouraged landholders to help protect the turtles and waterways, and said an incentive program was imminent.
“We can’t protect the Bell’s turtle without the help of farmers, because farmers look after so much private land,” she said.
“We need to try and raise awareness with landholders the importance of protecting our waterways and having the balance right, because we never know the true impact of our losses of flora and fauna until it’s too late.”
For those with Bell’s turtles on their property, funding will be available for fencing waterways, installing offstream watering points and revegetating creeks and rivers.
Breeding from September to January, the species can be identified by a saw-toothed rear shell edge, hard plate on the top of the head, nodules on the jaw and neck and a yellow stripe from the edge of the mouth along the neck. Bell’s turtles grow up to about 30cm, and their heads and necks are shorter than the common snake necked turtle.
The turtles’ biggest threats are predation on the eggs by foxes and feral pigs, pollution, sedimentation of river habitats, livestock trampling, damage to riverbanks and disease.