Unusual turtle spotted on Caspian shore — scientists offer possible explanations

Tengrinews.kz — A video of a semi-aquatic reptile spotted on the shore of the Caspian Sea near the village of Kuryk has spread online. Lada.kz looked into what species it is and how it ended up by the sea.
A European pond turtle was filmed this week on the sandy shore near Kuryk. Environmentalists and biologists say the find is unusual for the seacoast, but not sensational for Mangystau.


“They live in certain places and are not dying out. But their presence by the sea is unclear. Apparently, they end up in the Caspian by accident,” biologist and birdwatcher Vasily Bastayev explained.

Adilbek Kozybakov, executive director of the ECO-SOCIAL public association, reported that similar cases had previously been recorded on the Tyulen Islands.

“The mouths of the Ural and Volga rivers are very far from the Tyulen Islands, if we assume it was carried there by river runoff. It remains a mystery how a freshwater turtle ended up on a sea island and, most importantly, how it survives in a marine environment that is not typical for the species,” he said.

According to Bastayev, the reptile in the video is a European pond turtle, a semi-aquatic species. It differs from the steppe tortoise in the shape of its shell and its coloration, especially around the head.

“The presence of European pond turtles in Saura has generally been known for a long time, although I do not know when or by whom it was first discovered,” he noted.

How the turtle could have ended up in the sea remains unknown. Bastayev considers the theory that the population has a “glacial” origin insufficiently substantiated.
Another scientist cited human activity and entanglement in fishing nets, including poaching nets, as possible explanations.

“Perhaps we are witnessing the emergence of a new subspecies of freshwater turtle capable of living in salt water... The Caspian is considered brackish, with salinity of about 12-13 parts per thousand compared with 33-36 parts per thousand,” Adilbek Kozybekov said.

Experts stress that the species itself is not new to the region, but many questions remain, including the size and dynamics of the local population, how the turtles overwinter outside Lake Saura, and their genetic links with other populations.
They hope herpetologists will help shed light on this unusual natural phenomenon.