Wildlife biologists at Kejimkujik National Park have released 100 endangered Blanding's turtles into the wild in the past week in an effort to bolster their numbers.
The last of the turtles born in captivity, named Centennial, was released on Saturday.
There are 350 Blanding's turtles left in three genetically different populations in Nova Scotia, 120 of those in the park.
Duncan Smith, a species at risk biologist with Parks Canada, says studies have indicated that if something wasn't done the turtle was in danger of disappearing forever from the park.
Using volunteers to protect nests helped to a degree but the federal department decided to institute a captive rearing program to help improve survival rates.
Smith says a Blanding's turtle has a one per cent chance of survival in the wild but a 75 per cent chance if it comes from this head-start program.
The turtles live to be about 80 but don't lay eggs until they're 20 to 25 years old.
That means it will be at least two decades before biologists know whether the captive rearing program will result in more Blanding's turtles in southwestern Nova Scotia.
