A Massachusetts turtle vanished for 10 years after its 2011 release, then returned as an adult to the same wild habitat; 15 years later, two of its captive-raised offspring were released there to continue the story

A tiny Blanding’s turtle named Ivy disappeared into the Massachusetts landscape after her release in 2011. For more than a decade, nobody knew where she had gone. Then field researchers found her again as a full-grown adult. In 2025, they watched her lay eggs in the wild. One year later, two of her captive-raised offspring were released into the same Great Meadows wetlands, creating a rare conservation milestone: a turtle once given a head start had produced the next generation herself.

A seven-gram turtle disappears into the wild