A slow return: UT turtles make their way home
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Student researchers have spent nearly two years studying the campus turtles. Photo: Courtesy of Dan Tatulescu/University of Texas
More than three dozen turtles could return to the University of Texas by the weekend as student researchers wrap up their semester with one final mission: moving the reptiles back to their home on campus.
Why it matters: The beloved turtle pond on the north side of UT's tower has long been a quiet study spot for students, a must-visit stop during campus tours, and — for several years — a natural laboratory for biodiversity research.
Catch up quick: Repairs to the pond last fall meant roughly 100 turtles were relocated to the university's J.J. Pickle Research Campus in North Austin.
- Although the maintenance is now complete, the turtles have been tough to trap, according to Anastasia Kuzmina, a student researcher and leader of UT's Texas Ecology, Evolution and Behavior Club.
Driving the news: On Friday morning, Kuzmina and her team will attempt to move as many of the remaining turtles as possible back to UT. Only about 20 of the original 100 have returned so far.
- The students hope to return 60 turtles to the campus pond, while the rest will stay at Pickle.
Yes, but: Bringing the turtles home hasn't been easy. Many are skittish, and the design of the Pickle ponds makes them difficult to catch.
- "We've been trying all semester to relocate them, but they don't like us very much," Kuzmina says. "We're trying our best."
- With the ponds now drained, the team plans to use dip nets to round up the stragglers.
State of play: The club has collected DNA samples and studied the turtles since 2023 under the guidance of professor Justin Havird.
- That's allowed researchers to study the microbial communities living on different parts of a turtle's body.
- Most of the campus turtles are red-eared sliders, and the population has grown in recent years — partly due to pet turtles being released into the pond.
Between the lines: A larger population at the campus turtle pond not only ensures a more engaging experience for students and visitors, but it also allows future students to continue studying freshwater turtles.
What's next: Researchers will continue to take samples from the campus turtles over the summer, Havird says, and they expect to submit a scientific paper with their findings soon.
The bottom line: "It's such a unique ecosystem," Kuzmina says of the turtle pond. "It's in the middle of a college campus and it's pretty much all self-sustaining."