Siamese twin turtles found in travertines of Pamukkale

Authorities at Pamukkale University took Siamese twin turtles under their protection on Nov. 10 after they were found in an area of the country that is world-famous for its travertine thermal pools.

A tourist who had traveled to the city of Pamukkale and was looking forward to enjoying the travertines, or white calcium "cascades" frozen in stone, stumbled upon the turtles, whose bodies were attached, and they were handed over to teams of the Denizli branch of the General Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks. They were then were sent to academic members of the university.

The turtles, believed to be around three months old, were later taken to a laboratory for inspection.

Professor Eyup Başkale said the university would do all at its disposal to keep the turtles alive.

"Taking a closer look, we can see that this species is a Siamese twin," he said, adding the turtles had a single digestive system and that the hind legs seem to belong to a single turtle.

"It is highly unlikely that this species will survive in nature," he said. "We will try to keep the turtles alive at our laboratory. I hope we will succeed."

Turkey, Siamese twins,