In May, the Royal Saskatchewan Museum, the University of Regina and the Wascana Centre Authority started a project under which they looked out for the western painted turtle population in Saskatchewan. Since the project has started, three red-eared slider turtles have been found in Wascana area.

The red-eared slider is basically a semitropical turtle and is quite a common pet turtle in North America. Prof. Chris Somers said, “People buy (these turtles) when they’re small and they find out that they take a little more effort to take care of when they grow big and don’t fit in their tanks anymore”.

Being unable to take care of them, people drop them in a lake or pond. They do so with good intention thinking that it a chance of freedom for the turtle. But the turtles pose a risk to western painted turtles, which are not habitual of bacteria and viruses that red-slider turtle carry.

Somers said that turtles can be having different types of bacteria and when different turtles are mixed then all kinds of bacteria are exchanged. Therefore, it cannot be said with surety that which turtle has been carrying which bacteria.

Researchers said that red-eared sliders have established populations in some parts of Canada. Now, it is being feared that they will do the same there as well. Somers said that already turtle species in southern British Columbia and southern Ontario are at risk of extinction and now, they have another threat, red-eared slider.