PORTLAND, Ore. — Seventeen northwestern pond turtle hatchlings — each no larger than a walnut — are spending their summer growing under the care of conservationists at the Oregon Zoo.

The endangered reptiles are part of a “head-starting” program, where they are raised in the zoo’s Nature Exploration Station until they are large enough to survive in the wild. Guests can watch the turtles thrive in the zoo’s conservation lab before their release next spring.

“These hatchlings are very vulnerable to predators,” said Jen Osburn Eliot, who manages the zoo’s turtle recovery efforts. “At this small size, a bullfrog can gobble them up right out of the nest like a bunch of M&M’s.”

The American bullfrog — an invasive species in the Pacific Northwest — is a leading threat to native turtles and other aquatic wildlife. To combat this, zoo staff partnered with Washington Fish and Wildlife to collect the turtles from the Columbia Gorge. With warmth and ample food, the turtles skip hibernation and grow to a safer size for reintroduction and tracking.

Source: Oregon Zoo