A recently released juvenile southwestern pond turtle swims in the San Gabriel River in the Angeles National Forest. Read on ... for more about this conservation success story. A new generation: Once they'd grown a bit, the zoo released the young turtles into San Gabriel River where they belong in April. The baby boom: But then something happened that scientists didn't expect: "One baby, two baby, three baby, four baby. Fifteen babies later," is how a wildlife care manager at the zoo described it.