The weekend saw a torrential amount of rain falling on the coastal Burnett areas, and our thoughts go out to those who have been affected by the flood conditions.
Just as we were getting excited about the first of our protected wild nesting areas for the White-throated Snapping Turtle along the Burnett River, the waters started to rise. One of the popular nesting areas is in a very low lying area downstream of Cedars Bridge – both of which have been underwater since the weekend’s downpour. The flooded nesting area will spell the end for any unhatched eggs.
However, in good news, 4 clutches of around 10 eggs have hatched and the 1080 baits that were laid around the site to distract wild dogs from the nests have been taken up. There are a few more clutches of eggs to hatch yet, all of which are currently above the flood level. These should be hatching over the coming weeks.
At the Paradise Turtle Hatchery, there are over 400 eggs waiting to hatch. This is where many of the wild nests were delivered to if they were under threat from predation or flooding. These hatchings will eventually be released back into the river where they were collected.