‘Where are the f**king turtles?’: Disgust as ‘egg bandits’ seen stealing goose and duck eggs, turtles at Mawson Lakes

Suburban lakes in Adelaide’s north are being raided by “egg bandits” as enraged locals step in to defend innocent geese, ducks and even turtles taken as dinner.

Mawson Lakes residents are growing frustrated by the exploits of alleged “egg bandits” after a man was caught attempting to chase geese and steal their eggs in the latest of a series of similar incidents.

Locals have said two people were “repeat offenders” who frequently stole duck eggs from Shearwater Lake and Mawson Lake, while one man has claimed he caught individuals stealing and attempting to eat huge turtles from Mawson Lake.

Mark Walker, 44, who runs a community Facebook page, said two people separately contacted him after they photographed and filmed a man and young girl chasing geese and “hunting for their eggs” at Mawson Lake on Wednesday.

Mawson Lakes locals claim this man and a young girl attempted to chase geese and steal their eggs from Mawson Lake on Wednesday. Picture: Supplied

“This certainly isn’t the first time that this has happened,” the Mawson Lakes resident said.

“We’ve had kids actually grabbing the geese and walking off, carrying them under their arms.”

Mr Walker published images of the latest alleged offender on Wednesday on his Facebook page, drawing outrage from commenters who labelled him another one of the suburb’s “egg bandits”.

He said an elderly couple, who had been exposed in previous Facebook posts on his page, were “regulars” who “go around and collect the eggs” of ducks.

Two people were filmed in January allegedly collecting duck eggs at Mawson Lakes. ,

In a video posted to the page in January, a man stood with a lady holding what appeared to be a bucket filled with eggs, while the filmer said: “You guys are trying to steal the duck eggs. What are you doing? You can’t be doing that, man.”

Another post to the page in October showed images of a couple walking beside Shearwater Lake, along with claims they walked this route at 6.15am every morning as the lady raided bushes to find duck eggs.

Mawson Lakes locals claim they have witnessed this couple stealing duck eggs from Shearwater Lake. Picture: Supplied

Multiple commenters claimed to have seen the couple allegedly stealing duck eggs.

Mr Walker said he had previously seen the couple in 2023 from his balcony, stealing eggs from bird nests after throwing items at the nests to dislodge them.

Another Mawson Lakes resident, Andrew, said he caught people stealing and attempting to eat two “dinner-plate sized” turtles from Mawson Lake in early 2023.

The 31-year-old, who requested his last name not be used, said after spotting the people fishing for turtles, he banged on their front door and said: “Where are the f**king turtles?”

He claimed a man responded, “Oh, you want the turtles?” and retrieved two turtles in plastic bags from his kitchen, handing them to Andrew, who placed them back in the lake.

“Both of them had hooks down their throat I had to try to remove,” he said. “What would make you want to take a turtle that’s been there for 15 years?”

A SAPOL spokeswoman said the incidents were “not in our realm”.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Environment and Water said in November 2024 DEW staff attended a property in Mawson Lakes following reports of individuals taking duck or goose eggs from Shearwater Lake.

“The residents were warned and advised that it is an offence to take native animal eggs without a permit,” she said.

“Depending on the species, people found guilty of taking native animal eggs from the wild may face fines of $2,500 or six months in jail.”

A Salisbury Council spokeswoman said the council was not aware of such incidents occurring, but the council could issue a $188 for stealing bird eggs under its by-laws.

Originally published as ‘Where are the f**king turtles?’: Disgust as ‘egg bandits’ seen stealing goose and duck eggs, turtles at Mawson Lakes