As we head towards Valentine’s Day there is a certain amount of pressure to be particularly romantic come February 14 and respond amorously to some well-planned wooing.
And it seems that Cupid’s arrow has found its target for love-struck Fly River Turtle couple Barry and Carrie who after months of trying have finally hooked up and may be set to become parents very soon.
As MM reported back in November the pair were put together in the first breeding programme of its kind in Europe and were encouraged to get it on thanks to Taylor Swift love songs and mood lighting.
Sea Life Manchester’s curator Lucy Handel is delighted with the progress the pair have made and is hopeful that they’ll be welcoming some tiny additions to the tank in the near future.
She said: “We’ve noted a lot of mating. We’ve done a lot of research and as far as we’re aware they’re the only breeding pair in Europe.
“We’re keeping our fingers crossed for some babies and we’re making everything as nice as we can for them.
“We’ve been adjusting the lighting and dimmed it down to make it a lot more comfortable for them.”
Population numbers of the Fly River Turtles have declined, largely due to people taking them in as pets, as well as much of their natural habitat being destroyed.
Breeding the animals in captivity is also difficult as the animals can be temperamental.
She explained: “They’re notoriously quite grumpy animals so they don’t usually like being near each other in the wild or in captivity!
“Male and females are usually quite grumpy with each other and don’t get on. We’re really lucky that we’ve got a male and female who really like each other.”
Lucy said that staff members are watching out for changes in Carrie’s behaviour as an indication that she might be expecting.
“It won’t be like a human where you see a big bump. It’s more to do with changes in behaviour, coming up onto the beach area.
“Un-restful behaviour, ignoring the male, she could perhaps maybe send him away if he’s trying to mate.
We’re just closely looking at them and at the moment they’re just still loving each other and still breeding, so hopefully fingers crossed. We’re really pleased.”
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