Posted on: 2019-04-12 10:30:03

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Recent turtle news we found interesting.

It’s another short one this week. There’s some sea turtles, Bell’s turtles, and a snapping turtle. And sadly more poaching.

Also, this will be the last Turtle News Briefs for a while. We’ll still share the occasional interesting story, but won’t be doing turtle news round-ups for at least the next few months.

Instead the plan is to do some updating of the website and be a bit more active again on social media.

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Recent Box Turtle News

No real box turtle stories this week. There’s a picture of a boxie for National Pet Day. And a rather odd story out of Indiana with the turtles as kind of a side note.

A Happy National Pet Day from Frances the box turtle: A picture & a brief bio. 💚

Box turtle parts?!: A couple was arrested after officers found a variety of illegal items in their home, including a meth lab and “box turtle parts.” I sure hope those “parts” were already parts when they found them (which they claim). (Indiana)

Recent U. S. Turtle News

A sea turtle says hi and another one goes home.

A snapping turtle also goes home after 2 years away. He was welcomed with lots of press and a brand new, bigger tank.

Leatherback sea turtle says hi: It swam near a charter boat & lifted its head a few times as if inspecting it. Video. (South Carolina)

Farewell & good luck, Pebbles! The Kemp’s ridley got herself hooked in late March, but the hook didn’t do much damage & she healed up quick. Includes video. (Florida)

That’s one huge snapping turtle! Big Snap Daddy has been on a bit of a vacation while his home was undergoing renovation. But the 90-pound, 85-90 year old snapper recently came home to great fanfare. Includes video. (Nebraska)

 

 

Recent International Turtle News

Most of this week’s stories fall quite neatly into 2 categories: people helping turtles and people hurting turtles. On the bright side, there’s 2x more helping stories than hurting stories. One actually involves both—a kind man helping a turtle someone else had hurt.

And then there’s this one, which doesn’t involve directly hurting a turtle. But it is a vivid reminder of just how human development can negatively affect wildlife.

Her nesting beach has become an airport runway: So she laid her eggs right there on the runway. 😢 This may well be the saddest story I’ve seen this year. Includes picture of the sea turtle & 3 eggs.

Turtle conservation & protection news

Not everyone who buys a sea turtle has evil intentions: One man in the Philippines recently bought a sea turtle to keep it safe. 💚

Protecting Ontario’s turtles one nest at a time: At least in the Kingston area where a local turtle protection group is trying to make it easier for citizens who discover a nest to protect it. They can now buy a simple nest protector or learn how to make one. This is a great idea for anywhere!

Koala does more than sell mattresses: Right from the start the company’s founders knew they wanted to do good too. They started out donating to environmental causes helping (what else) koalas. Recently they’ve expanded to causes protecting green sea turtles & the Great Barrier Reef, where a large population of them live.

Kind man rescues turtle with bottle glued to shell: Yes, glued. And probably for a while, because there was algae growing on the bottle & the turtle. Hopefully the little turtle was ok after he let it go (this happened more than 2 years ago). Includes pictures & video. (Taiwan)

Can the Bell’s turtles survive? Researchers are doing their best, raising hatchlings & protecting nests. But a lack of juveniles in the wild has them concerned if their efforts will be enough.  (New South Wales, Australia)

Man’s best friend may also be turtles’ best friends: So in the last couple of years we’ve seen stories of dogs helping researchers find box turtles and dogs who help find sea turtle nests. Now dogs are helping find freshwater turtle nests in northern Victoria (Australia). That makes it easier for their humans to protect more nests! 💚

Turtle poaching news

More than 600 pounds of turtle meat seized: Officials inspecting a truck on Bali discovered 280 kg (617 lb) of turtle meat. The driver claimed no knowledge of what he was carrying.

India’s turtles disappearing fast: Between the pet trade and “traditional” Chinese medicine, the demand for the turtles is too high. And enforcement of laws to protect the turtles is too low. ☹️