THE COUNTRY
Turkey
THE ANIMAL
During collecting expeditions in south Turkey in 1966 and 1972, former custodian of the Natural History Museum in Vienna, Josef Eiselt, collected 4 small, dark, European Pond Turtles close to the Syrian border and brought them to Vienna. Based on these 4 specimens, Prof. Uwe Fritz, described the new taxon Emys orbicularis eiselti in 1998. Genetic studies showed, that this taxon is the most distinct subspecies of all European Pond Turtles. It seems likely that Eiselt’s pond turtle was originally widely distributed across the Amik Maras Rift Valley east of the Amanos Mountains (i.e., in the northernmost part of the Dead Sea Rift). The Amik Maras Rift Valley once harbored large marshlands. Today, this marshland system is largely destroyed. For nearly 80 years, wetlands in Turkey have been systematically drained for various reasons, such as agriculture, urbanization, road construction, and prevention of malaria. Lake Amik exemplifies this situation. The lake covered an area of approximately 35,000 ha in the 19th century and receded to 30,000 ha at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1966, the surface area of the lake was reported as 7000 ha by the State Hydraulic Works (Calıskan 2008; Ozelkan et al. 2011). Water from the lake and its tributaries was discharged to the Asi River by creating new channels toward the river, and the habitats of E. o. eiselti and other freshwater species dwindled away. In 2007, Hatay Airport was constructed in the center of the former lakebed. Today, only the Asi River and its tributaries serve as a refuge for many freshwater biota.
2012 STATUS (Ayaz et al., 2021)
In their study: “On the Brink of Extinction: Results of a 20-Year Quest for Eiselt’s Pond Turtle (Emys orbicularis eiselti) in Southeastern Turkey” Ayaz and colleagues found only a very few specimens in small urban ponds very close to the mouth of the Asi (Orontes) river. The last sighting happened in summer 2012. Their supervisor Prof. Ertan Taskavak of Ege University in Izmir had explained that survey time may be a waste of time, because all facts show, that the species is already extinct.
At this point, since it’s description in 1998, no more than 25 specimens of the Eiselt’s Pond Turtle had officially been observed.
CURRENT STATUS (2024)
In 2012, four ponds were recorded as harboring the Emys orbicularis eiselti. Since then, one of these crucial habitats was lost to residential development in 2018, and another is now choked with trash. Only two adjacent ponds remain, but they too are under threat from encroaching construction. The Eiselt’s Pond Turtle’s struggle for survival highlights the urgent need for conservation efforts to preserve these delicate ecosystems before they vanish completely.
In a bold move to save this critically endangered subspecies, our founder, Peter Praschag, embarked on an expedition to Turkey in 2022 to search for the remaining Eiselt’s Pond Turtles and devise a plan for their protection. Peter has made significant progress towards this goal. He has obtained permits, in collaboration with EGE University in Izmir, to conduct field studies and develop a conservation breeding program. Furthermore, Turtle Island is also actively working towards securing the land surrounding the remaining ponds.
In August of 2024, Peter and his son Kiran returned to the area to take a census of the Eiselt’s Pond Turtles still inhabiting the remaining ponds. Luckily, in the intervening time, no further harm has come to the two remaining ponds, although the new construction of a nearby cement factory raises concerns about water use in the area.
Using a catch and release technique, Peter and Kiran discovered 22 new specimens, surpassing expectations about the population size still currently residing in the area, and increasing the hope in there still being a viable population living in these natural ponds. However, the stressful environment may be affecting breeding success, as only adult turtles were seen or caught. After careful examination, the turtles were safely re-released, as talks are still in progress to acquire the land and create a safe habitat for the turtles to live in their native ponds.
You are currently viewing a placeholder content from YouTube. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
More Information