Enthusiastic volunteers from Kenilworth, many kilometres upstream of Tiaro, have helped with finding and protecting nests in the mid catchment. Sunshine Coast Regional Council have fenced a bank to prevent 4WD driving over nests of the endangered Mary River turtle, plus installed informative signage.
Searching for nests at Kenilworth
Researchers from the University of Queensland are conducting a tracking program of Mary River turtles. An adult female has been recorded at 7.4m ..this means she is hanging around on the bed of the river …..no wonder they are hard to find in the river..How long will she stay there? What food is there? Many questions to answer.
The Mary River is in flood. This week we’ve been observing many turtles (Kreffts, white-throated, saw-shelled and Mary River turtles) in gullies which only carry water during floods or heavy storms and in backwaters of the river where the flow is minimal. A valuable refuge for freshwater turtles.