UPPER TAMPA BAY - Terrapins, a turtle that is found from Cape Cod, Mass., to the Gulf Coast, have a new facility where they can rehabilitate and educate.
The Turtle Center at Upper Tampa Bay Park opened Friday after almost eight years of work by a Town 'N Country resident, Jack Berlin, who found a little terrapin in Sweetwater Creek.
"We have diamond back terrapins in the area and my son was a student at Tampa Prep at that time," Berlin said. "They are the terrains and most people don't know much about them."
Most West Coast Florida terrapins are known as ornate diamondbacks, one of seven subspecies of the animals that are well-adapted to survive the near-shore marine environment with its large webbed feet.
Their markings make them interesting with shell coloring varying from brown to gray. They have wiggly, black markings or spots on their body and head. The variation is thought to be caused by genetic diversity and environmental factors. They grow to about 5 inches for males and 7 inches for females.
Berlin, a member of the Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation and Conservation board, said after his interest continued to grow, "I began hounding the parks department asking 'Why don't we build an education center?'"
Eventually, the non-profit support organization, The Friends of the County Parks, raised about $15,000 for the project.
Friday's grand opening of the center included members of the organization, local environmentalists, parks department personnel, summer camp students and Hillsborough county commissar Pat Kemp who called the exhibit "unbelievable'' and "an awesome, wonderful thing."
Forest Turbiville, Hillsborough County director of conservation and environmental lands management, in launching Friday's ribbon-cutting ceremony said, "This is to educate visitors on protecting Tampa Bay and the creatures who rely on the bay for survival."
Berlin said the Hillsborough River used to be "littered with them." But as Tampa grew, sea walls, the clearing of vegetation and other factors - including crab traps - reduced their numbers.
"That (traps) is the No. 1 damage to them," he said. "They can get in but can't get out. And they can't stay underwater that long; they drown."
Terrapins like to go in and out of the water; and they need a lot of sunshine, he said.
The new center is connected to the park's nature center and is the first outdoor exhibit at any Hillsborough County Park, said parks department section manager Jason Chilson.
"We've always had displays inside but this is a nice thing outside," Chilson said. "It has a natural look, and the look of their habitant."
The 450-square foot facility includes a shallow pond with a filtration system for the terrapins, which in the wild eat small fish, snails and marsh plants.
Berlin said one of the challenges was protecting the turtles from predators, which includes raccoons. The pond at the center is shallower than most natural ponds, where turtles would be able to dive deep enough to escape.
He said he got the idea for a mesh protection after talking with Tampa Zoo at Lowry Park and other facilities.
"It's mostly an environmental education exhibit," Chilson said. "It's a little bigger than we were expecting but that will give us more room for other species of turtles, too." Last week there were five terrapins in the center; the number will change regularly as a licensed rehabilitator from a partner non-profit works to get sick or injured turtles ready to go back to the wild.
Some, like one that has only one eye, will be permanent residents since they probably wouldn't be able to survive in the wild.
"Our goal is not to take anything from the wild," he said, adding some in the center were hatched at his own pond. "This was never intended to be an exhibit; it is an educational and rehabilitative center."
Contact Lenora Lake at hillsnews@tampabay.com.