Sightings of a large exotic turtle at Rome’s Villa Doria Pamphili have caused unease among both visitors and experts.
The 17th-century villa is surrounded by the largest landscaped public park in Rome and is a popular spot frequented by locals and tourists alike. However, the villa has had what Italian newspaper ‘La Repubblica’ describes as a “strange visitor” in the form of a carnivorous turtle not native to Italy that has the potential to attack human beings.
The turtle was sighted and photographed in early September and is thought to have been abandoned by a collector. Measuring almost 1ft 6in in length, the turtle is not typically seen in the Mediterranean and according to a biologist quoted in the newspaper, Doctor Paola Richard, it could belong to a dangerous species.
There is speculation that the turtle could be an African softshell turtle (Trionyx triunguis) native to parts of Africa and the Near East, or a Florida softshell turtle (Apalone ferox) found in the southeastern United States. Such species consume fish, frogs and other amphibians, insects, duck hatchlings and crustaceans. Although normally shy around humans, if a turtle feels in danger it can bite with its strong jaws.
Richard warned that should a child gets too close to the turtle hoping to see or even touch it out of curiosity, the turtle may feel threatened and bite the child.
The authority in charge in such cases, the Corpo Forestale dello Stato (State Forestry Corps), has not intervened at the time of going to press, so the turtle was still moving freely in the park.
Richard added that the turtle may not be the only “strange visitor” to the park because the number of sightings by visitors is sufficiently large to suggest that the turtle could have a companion.
