Dozens of Baby Turtles Set Free in Quebec River as Part of Zoo Conservation Project

Dozens of Baby Turtles Set Free in Quebec River as Part of Zoo Conservation Project
A person holds a spiny softshell turtle prior to releasing it into the wild in Pike River, Que., Aug. 24, 2024. The Canadian Press/Graham Hughes
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The weeks-old baby turtle wriggles its legs as it’s picked up from a blue tupperware bin and placed gently into a river south of Montreal. In a flash it’s off, swimming deftly through the murky water before disappearing from view.

The little green-brown creature twice the size of a loonie is one of about 140 endangered baby spiny softshell turtles being released into a river near Lake Champlain, near the U.S. border, as part of a zoo-led project to help save the species.