Blanding’s Turtle
Reptile Awareness Day – Oct 21
Our highlighted Animal of the Month for October is a reptile who is always found smiling in his tank. Linnaeus, Discovery World’s only Blanding’s Turtle, is featured to help celebrate Reptile Awareness Day on October 21st. When you visit Linnaeus, you’ll find him in one of our Great Lakes Future tanks. Blanding’s Turtles are native to an area stretching from Nebraska to New York, with their range extending north into Southern Canada and Nova Scotia. They spend most of their time in the water, even using it to help them eat. Since Blanding’s Turtles don’t produce saliva, they rely on water to help them swallow their food.
Blanding’s Turtles in the Wild
If Linnaeus lived in the wild, he would begin the process of brumation this month. Brumation is similar to hibernation, but reptiles and amphibians in brumation can “wake up” and search for food on warmer days, while mammals in hibernation remain in a deep sleep until the hibernation period is over. In the wild, Linnaeus would be looking for a cozy spot in a lake or pond to burrow deep into the muddy bottom, waiting out the winter. Blanding’s Turtles burrow into the muddy lake bottom all winter, which helps them retain heat and protects them from predators during brumation.
But how can a turtle stay underwater from October to April? Aquatic turtles have a special ability called cloacal respiration, which allows them to “breathe” underwater. They pump water through their mouths or cloaca, and use finger-like projections called papillae and blood vessels to extract oxygen from the water. The oxygen is then absorbed into their bloodstream.
In Wisconsin, Blanding’s Turtles are currently listed as Special Concern, meaning they are vulnerable to becoming endangered or threatened. Like many animals, their decline is primarily due to habitat loss in marshes and lakes with abundant submerged vegetation. To prevent them from becoming endangered, teams are training dogs to detect female Blanding’s Turtles and locate their nests, ensuring the hatchlings survive into adulthood.
Explore More…
Get up close with Linnaeus, our Blanding’s Turtle in our Great Lakes Future exhibit. Experience an Animal Encounter – visit our calendar for details: Calendar of Events.
