ON THE WILD SIDE
Although they are found only a stone’s throw away in mainland Europe, the British Isles have never been home to wild terrapins.
However, we have become a home to released ones, so much so that it was said at one time that there were no large ponds in England that didn’t have one of these invaders.
A ban on importing terrapins in the 90s led to one of the biggest spikes in the UK feral population.
Although there is no solid evidence they have bred here, terrapins can live for 40 years in a suitable environment. Three species were made illegal to buy, sell, give away or breed in 2016, which led to even more being abandoned as the only legal way to get rid of one was to have it put down by a vet.
Some people tried to give their pets a new life instead, but that often meant death for our local species. Terrapins and river turtles will eat anything they fancy, from bugs and fish to birds’ eggs and ducklings.
They can be disastrous to our native wildlife. One species often released – the snapping turtle – lives up to its name by closing its sharp jaws on anything that comes close.
THE number of PPE gloves and masks ending up in the sea is quite shocking. Try to dispose of everything as appropriately as you can, and recycle to protect our environment.
They can grow 30cm shells and their bite is three times stronger than that of a dog.
They will bite off the finger of anyone who gets too close. Not all our invading terrapins are that dangerous. The red-eared terrapin is easy to identify as it has red stripes along its head.
In the US they are called “sliders” for their habit of sliding off banks into the water when they hear you coming.
Cute, but our environment must be protected from them.