Remember the adorable red-bellied cooters that arrived at the Aquarium last fall? These guys are getting a head start on growing up, and they'll be released back into the wild later this spring. It's a way to boost this special population of the species here in Massachusetts.



A red-bellied cooter sits in the palm of an aquarist behind the scenes at the Aquarium, October 2011

Well, we thought you might like to see how they're doing now! Here's a short video of life in the turtle tank today.



We caught the turtles just after lunch, with bits of lettuce swirling around the tank. As you can see, they've grown quite a bit.



 Look who's all grown up! March 2012