Red-eared sliders are one of the most common turtles sold in pet stores. But these darlings of the domesticated reptile world are also flourishing in ponds and lakes in New York’s Central Park and Prospect Park, as well as in waterways in several other states. Mostly escapees and discards from homes, these feral turtles have been multiplying since the 1930s with their peak occurring in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s when “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” were all the rage.