Stolen Dudley Zoo turtles found dumped near children’s playground

Police are hunting thieves who broke into a zoo and stole two endangered TURTLES before dumping them next to a children’s playground.

Keepers discovered the "extremely rare" Coahuilan Box Turtles were missing from their exhibit at Dudley Zoo on Saturday morning (July 1). West Midlands Police were called in along with the National Wildlife Crimes Unit to investigate the "targeted theft" from the attraction’s reptile house.

A member of the public found the exotic reptiles abandoned near a kid’s playground around three miles away in Tipton at 9am today (Monday, July 3). The pair of male turtles, which are 15cm and 17cm long, were checked over by vets and returned to their exhibit after appearing to be unharmed.

A zoo spokesperson said: "We’re overjoyed to announce the safe return of our two Coahuilan Box Turtles. A huge thank you to everyone who shared our social media posts and helped us retrieve them so quickly. The pair were found by a member of the public three miles away near a playground in Tipton and were returned to the zoo just after 9am this morning.

"Both males have been checked over by our veterinary team and appear to be well. They have been returned to the Reptile House where they will remain off-show in quarantine for the next week. Work will continue over the next few days as we install extra security measures alongside the Reptile House exhibit window locks and staff will continue manning the area."

Keepers had appealed for the turtles safe return after finding them missing and the lock to their exhibit damaged over the weekend. The zoo is the only one in the country with a collection of the animals, which are only found in the wild in Mexico, and it was feared they could have been stolen to order.

The zoo said previously: “We believe this to be a targeted theft as we’re the only zoo collection in the country to hold the endangered aquatic species, so we understand how rare they are. We are incredibly concerned about their welfare. They’re a small exotic reptile species, native to Mexico, which spends most of the time in the water.

"They require specialist care and it is essential we get them back. The exhibit is accessed from the front public corridor and staff found the lock had been damaged. We’ve launched a full review of security in the Reptile House and have already started installing additional bolts alongside the window locks and will manually staff the area until this work has been completed.”

The National Wildlife Crimes Unit, alongside West Midlands Police are investigating the theft. Anyone with information is urged to contact police on 101, quoting log number 1470-01072023.

What is so special about Coahuilan Box Turtles?

The Coahuilan Box Turtle is also known commonly as the aquatic box turtle and spends roughly 90 per cent of its time in water. They are native to Coahuila, Mexico, and feed on plants and other animals - including dragonflies, beetles, spiders, reptiles and fish. They are listed as endangered with only 2,000 left in the wild and face threats from illegal collection and poaching.