Turtles trapped in Winter Park concrete drainage pond

WINTER PARK, Fla. - Two dozen turtles are trapped in a concrete drainage pond off of State Road 436 in Winter Park. The area is fenced-in and blocked with concrete barriers.

A viewer contacted FOX 35 News and said he was concerned about the turtles.

Kim Titterington, a wildlife rehabilitator and founder of Swamp Girl Adventures Reptile Rehab, said the turtles likely came from a nearby pond and swam through storm drains at some point after a lot of rain.

"It’s becoming more and more common especially when we get closer to cities and well-structured areas because they’re always trying to get that water to flow away from all of the development. That kind of streamlines these turtles where they have these access points. And then it kind of fragments it, and then sometimes they can become trapped especially when we have a drought," Titterington said.

She said they can survive there because there are enough water and food sources, but she said her concern is for the female turtles.

"Females do need to go lay eggs. They don’t lay eggs in the water. They actually sometimes move quite a bit out of the water into the sandy area to lay those eggs. And when they don’t have the chance to do that they can become egg-bound, or that could become a medical issue for them," Titterington said.

It is turtle egg-laying season, so Titterington is planning to try to trap and rescue the female turtles sometime in the next few weeks and move them to a nearby pond.