Brynmill Sliders

This 2 kilo reptile, identified by Simon Allen at the Gower Bird Hospital as a Yellow-bellied Slider (Trachemys scripta scripta), has been accused of dinning out on ducklings in Brynmill Park Pond. There may be up to 6 of these North American 'Sliders', perhaps not all this species, lurking in the pond; but do they really eat ducklings? Personally I've never seen or heard of good evidence of this myself. Certainly the ducklings at the Wildlfowl & Wetlands Trust seem to do just fine despite a similar number of large Red-eared Sliders (T.s. elegans) being present. I'd be interested to hear if anyone has seen or heard of Sliders causing problems elsewhere.

(c) Simon Allen

Other terrapins recorded in our area in recent years have included Common Snapper (Chelydra serpentina) [1 record] and Red-eared (Terrapin) Slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) [31 records, though it seems likely that some of these may be Yellow-bellied Sliders that have been misidentified].