My Red-eared slider find.

I currently volunteer locally at a place called Lee Valley Regional Park. Here I meet up with the regular bunch of conservation volunteers carrying out practical tasks and activities in the parks green and open spaces.

Last week on a clean-up of Walthamstow Marshes, I was surprised when I spotted a Red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) on the bank of the stream! I brought this to the attention of the ranger leading the activity and he phoned the management to see if they would need it removed. This area is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest and this sub-species of pond slider is invasive in the UK, so it was to be taken away to a wildlife centre who had agreed to collect it and take care of it from there onwards.

"Terry."

 This one could have been an escapee, or was deliberately released. Originally found in southern USA and Mexico, the first sliders were introduced to the UK as unwanted pets that grew larger than expected. A boom came about from the popularity of the children's television show "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" and this species in particular has become the most widely traded pet turtle in the world.