Operation Tortuga releases 16 native turtles into Fuengirola river

The river in Fuengirola has some new tenants - 16 Spanish pond turtles, which belong to the only native aquatic turtle species in Spain. The specimens have been separated from the 71 aggressive invasive species with which they used to live in a pond in La Cantera park, in the Los Pacos area.

According to sources, the turtles were abandoned in the park pond by their previous owners - a practice considered a crime, according to the penal code modification from 2015.

Operation Tortuga was carried out by the town hall, in collaboration with Bioparc Fuengirola. It was a complex task, given that the first step was to look for the turtles. "The Spanish pond turtle has adapted to Mediterranean rivers, which dry out for much of the year, so what they do is bury themselves in the mud at the bottom and hibernate; they do the same in the winter if it is so cold that they can go for days without water. That's why it was a complicated process, because there was a lot of mud at the bottom of the pond and it wasn't easy to find the turtles," said Jesús Recuero, veterinary officer at Bioparc Fuengirola.

Bioparc assisted the town hall in the creation of "suitable pools to house" all the turtles found while cleaning the pond in La Cantera park. When the process is complete, the invasive species will return to the same place where they were, while the 16 turtles are already living at the mouth of the Fuengirola river.

Recuero warned that "many of the turtles that used to be sold in pet shops" are "very aggressive to our environment" and are therefore included in the catalogue of invasive species, so "they should not be bought". If someone does purchase a species that can be legally bought, they should "keep it for the rest of the animal's life", because leaving it in a park, as has been done in this case, is considered "abandonment".

Spanish pond turtles are almost entirely aquatic, but they sometimes leave the water to rest and sunbathe, as they are cold-blooded animals that need to regulate their temperature. They are omnivorous and breed between March and July, with courtship and mating taking place underwater.