‘Extremely rare’ albino turtle hatches in Canada. Then comes a second. See them
Two “extremely rare” albino Blanding’s turtles have hatched in Canada.
These are possibly the first documented cases of albinism in the species recorded in the country, experts from the Canadian Wildlife Federation told McClatchy News in a statement Aug. 21.
As researchers were attempting to verify one of the turtle’s status, they were treated to an extra surprise.
“There’s a second albino one in the process of hatching,” Payton McIntyre said in a post on the Canadian Herpetological Society’s Facebook page.
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The Blanding’s turtle is an endangered species in Canada and is listed as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List, David Seburn, a turtle specialist with the Canadian Wildlife Federation, told McClatchy News.
Since 2018, the Canadian Wildlife Federation has been “collecting and incubating turtle eggs in eastern Ontario to help at-risk populations,” a spokesperson for the organization said.
“The eggs are carefully collected from wild nests and incubated at CWF headquarters,” the spokesperson said. “The hatchlings of each nest are then released at the wetland closest to the nest site.”
Over the last eight years, the Canadian Wildlife Federation has incubated more than 6,000 eggs from a variety of turtle species, Seburn said.
The newest hatchlings are the first albino turtles the CWF has encountered, “suggesting how rare it is,” according to Seburn.
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“We have contacted other turtle conservation groups in Canada and no one else has reported seeing albino hatchlings,” Seburn said. “This appears to be the first documented occurrence in Canada.”
Blanding’s turtles are typically dark gray and can be found in lakes, swamps, and marshes. In winter, they “hibernate underwater on the bottom of wetlands,” according to the Canadian Wildlife Federation.
It can take more than 20 years for the turtles to mature.
Experts said the hatchlings will be released back into the wild.
This story was originally published August 22, 2025 at 5:48 PM with the headline "‘Extremely rare’ albino turtle hatches in Canada. Then comes a second. See them."
