Shellebrating the reintroduction of 15 baby southwestern pond turtles to their native habitat 🐢 In 2020, the Bobcat Fire destroyed critical turtle habitat in Southern California. Eleven southwestern pond turtles were rescued from the San Gabriel watershed and brought to the San Diego Zoo for recovery through a collaborative effort with incredible partners including usgs, californiadfw, u.s.forestservice, and endemicenvironmental. After years of habitat monitoring, these adult turtles were reintroduced to their native home. In a turtle-y amazing turn of events, wildlife care experts discovered that the adult turtles had laid eggs while in our care. Now, those fifteen hatchlings have officially been reintroduced to the San Gabriel watershed, where they’ll help strengthen the population of California’s only native turtle species. #worldturtleday #southwesternpondturtle #savingspecies