Oregon Zoo releases lab turtles in the Columbia River Gorge

Oregon Zoo releases lab turtles in the Columbia River Gorge

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Nineteen northwestern pond turtles have been growing in the Oregon zoo's lab, and now they're heading back to nature. Conservationists took the endangered turtles to ponds along the Columbia River and set them loose in the Gorge. Portland’s Pastificio d’Oro announces permanent closure in July 2025 Zookeepers say they had to wait until the turtles weighed 50 grams so they wouldn't get eaten by bullfrogs. Watch the tu…

One sweet video: WPZ turtle weigh-in

As students throughout the region prepare to graduate to the next level, Woodland Park Zoo is getting its own class of 2025 ready for graduation: baby Western pond turtles! The tiny reptiles arrived at the zoo as eggs last summer, hatched, and will return to the wild in June. This week, biologists from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) were at the zoo to weigh and measure each of the juvenile turtles to confirm they have grow…