An unexpected recapture of European pond turtle Emys orbicularis (Linnaeus, 1758) in the Barcs Juniper woodland (Hungary)

Little is known about the lifespan of free-living freshwater turtles in Hungary, because no long term monitoring has been conducted with such purpose. We captured a European pond turtle with markings on its carapace, at the dam of the lakes along the Rigóc stream in the Barcs Juniper woodland area on June 9, 2022. This female had been marked 16 years earlier, on July 17, 2006 in the framework of a genetic research project. At the time of marking it was 10 years old based on its growth rings, body mass was 630 g and carapace length was 151.6 mm. This individual was recaptured only 75 meters away from the place where it had been marked, thus it has been living in the same place for at least 26 years.