Video: Raw: Pond turtles get head start at Seattle zoo

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SEATTLE - Endangered turtles are getting a head start in life, thanks to Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo.

The zoo is caring for nearly 100 newly-hatched Western Pond Turtles.

The hatchlings, about the size of a quarter, were from nests collected from sites in Pierce County and the Columbia River Gorge. They were brought to the zoo to increase their chances of survival during their first days.

Keepers will nurture the turtles until next summer, before returning them to the wild.

"We raise them to be shy to avoid future contact with human beings and it may also help with respect to avoiding natural predators," said zookeeper Walter English.

The Western Pond Turtles were on the verge of extinction in our state in 1990, and were listed as endangered in 1993.