Arizona Wildlife officials are currently scrambling to put together an emergency rescue operation for the endangered Sonoyta mud turtle. The species faces the potential destruction of its final remaining habitat in the United States due to the construction of a secondary border wall. This tiny, olive-brown freshwater reptile, which was officially listed as endangered in 2017, is now under threat from federal government projects.
According to the Arizona Daily Star, researchers and wildlife experts are preparing for the worst as they draft a salvage plan to protect the turtles. It’s an incredibly stressful situation for the all-volunteer, multi-agency team tasked with the species’ recovery. PEOPLE noted that the team includes representatives from the National Park Service (NPS), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Arizona Game and Fish, the Tohono O’odham Nation, and various research partners in Mexico.
