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Population Drops Prompt Study, Rescues
By David A. Fahrenthold
But in nature -- where the oriole and terrapin are not mascots but real,
living beings -- the state of the two species in this area is a little shaky.
Both creatures are exhibiting symptoms of decline as humans have encroached
more and more on their habitats.
Now, far from the limelight afforded their sports counterparts, scientists
in Anne Arundel and elsewhere in the state are working to preserve them.
In Anne Arundel, the diamondback terrapin is the more prevalent of the two
species. But it's had a difficult past: The turtle, which populates brackish
water from
That was around 1900, when terrapin meat gained national
popularity as a gourmet treat. In 1891, according to the state, watermen
hauled in 89,000 pounds of terrapins in a single year. After that craze, the
popularity died down, and restrictions on commercial harvesting were enacted.
Now, scientists say they fear the
"Nobody really knows," said Mike Haramis, a research biologist for
the U.S. Geological Survey.
What scientists do know about terrapins is that their nesting habits put
them at odds with humans and development.
Female terrapins like to bury their eggs in soft sand, above the waterline
of creeks and streams. In some places, such as the bay's uninhabited
"Most of Anne Arundel has so much hardened shoreline that it's really marginal
habitat" for terrapins, said Willem Roosenburg, a Calvert County native
who now studies terrapins as a professor at Ohio University.
Other threats include harvesting by humans: Last year, 2,822 pounds of
turtles were reported harvested to the Department of Natural Resources. At
about three pounds per turtle, that's a harvest of roughly 940 animals, though
officials worry that the total catch is far underreported.
The turtles also are killed by boats -- whose propellers slice the
terrapins' shells -- and by foxes and raccoons, which dig out turtle eggs and
eat them. Raccoons live well alongside humans and probably have joined the
encroachment of suburbia upon stream-side terrapin nests.
One person trying to help the terrapins in Anne Arundel is Marguerite
Whilden, a former Department of Natural Resources employee who has established
a terrapin sanctuary on county land along the
On one recent day, Whilden showed where she had dumped 42 tons of sand to
create a beach there, and then pointed to the wiggly track of a female terrapin
that had walked through seeking a nest.
"Here's the path," she said. "The shell is dragging, the feet
push to the side, and then the tail's dragging."
Whilden said she has released several hundred terrapins at this site, most
of them purchased from seafood dealers on the open market.
Whilden founded, and is a co-director of, the nonprofit Terrapin Institute
and Research Consortium, which, besides the sanctuary and a field station in
Edgewater, has offices in Shady Side. Some of her funding comes from the
Whilden said she's had some success, noting that 20 nests were counted on
the sanctuary property this year. And she said that buying terrapins from the
seafood market is an effective way of keeping those turtles from becoming
someone's meal or house pet.
But Roosenburg said he finds fault with that tactic.
"It's a bad thing," he said. He said that the purchased turtles
may carry diseases, or could have a hard time adapting to life after being
transplanted from another part of the bay. Turtles from the southern bay might
have learned to eat snails, for instance, and might have difficulty in an area
where the most prevalent turtle food is clams, Roosenburg said.
Another worry is that Whilden's mass purchasing of turtles might actually be
encouraging watermen to catch more. She disputes that theory, saying she's been
assured by turtle dealers that they could find buyers elsewhere.
Whilden and the scientists do agree on one thing: More turtles could be
saved by further limiting the terrapin harvest in
For what it's worth, the turtles have a determined ally in the State House.
Del. Virginia P. Clagett (D-Anne Arundel) proposed a "Diamondback Terrapin
Day" during the last legislative session. It didn't pass,
a defeat Clagett blames on its submittal late in the session.
Clagett said she will submit the bill again, hoping for a day when
Marylanders would contemplate the terrapin's fate.
"I think it's important just to get it in front of people," Clagett
said.
As for the Baltimore oriole, scientists say its numbers are also in decline:
A national bird survey estimated that its
But, in this case, the causes for its decline here are not all local.
Despite its stature in this area, the oriole spends only about two to four
months here during the spring and early summer. It spends the rest of the year
in Central and
"It's our state bird, but in some ways, we don't have a right to claim
it," said Kevin Omland, a professor who studies orioles at the University of Maryland Baltimore County.
The oriole faces most of its troubles in its southern home, said Keith L.
Pardieck, a wildlife biologist at the U.S. Geological Survey.
"They are a forest/parkland type of bird," Pardieck said, and
can't compete when forests there are turned into farms.
For now, the Baltimore oriole continues to visit most of
In Anne Arundel, the orchard oriole, a cousin to the
In the long run, the biggest threat to orioles in
"You're talking about 100 years from now," said Jeff Price, a
professor at
So what about state's other famous non-human mascots?
The raven, which inspired the name of
And what of the UMBC mascot, the Chesapeake Bay retriever?
Doing just fine, thanks. Statistics kept by the
American Kennel Club show that this breed of dog -- developed for hunting
around the
© 2005 The
Washington Post Company
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