Posted on: 2017-08-22 09:30:43
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Recent turtle news you may have missed.
We have a box turtle returned (maybe). Also excavating a sea turtle nest, Air Force to the rescue, and cautious optimism for a soft-shell turtle already extinct in the wild. Plus much more.
Recent Box Turtle News
Their yard had been turtle-less for several years. But then, a beautiful animal appeared …
Box Turtle is a beautiful sight: Is it the same one who’d been visiting for years & then vanished? Or is it a new friend? No matter, it’s always welcome. (includes pictures)
Recent U. S. Turtle News
Today we have turtle nests, turtle rescues, and turtle research. All in all, mostly good news for various turtle species.
Watch a sea turtle nest excavation: See the Facebook live video of researchers from the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center. They found lots of empty shells and one little guy who hadn’t quite made it out yet.
What’s it like monitoring sea turtles?: Here’s a quick look at a typical night for members of the University of Central Florida Turtle Team.
Air Force rescues green sea turtle: The 300-pound female had wandered into the street near Patrick Air Force Base. Officers from the base, along with a rescue group and the Sheriff’s office all turned out to get her safely back to the beach. (Florida)
Endangered Blanding’s turtle wandering outside its normal range: Lucky for the turtle, an amateur herpetologist found it in the road, recognized it and contacted the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife. Now the state’s going to track the little reptile.
How do turtles learn to navigate their surroundings? Scientists are studying this question on a farm in Maryland.
South Carolina seawalls update: The walls themselves are coming down. But the state has asked if the pylons can stay.
Gill finally goes home!: Remember Gill? We shared his story back in June. He was sick and had eaten part of a balloon. Well, he was finally well enough for release, and he went back home to the sea August 18. Good luck, Gill! 🐢 🐢
Getting to know the Rio Grande River Cooter: We know very little about this freshwater turtle, also called the Western River Cooter. A New Mexico University professor and her students are trying to change that.
Recent International Turtle News
Stories today include a turtle conservation project, turtle rescues, and turtle babies. Also a reminder not to irritate a snapping turtle, and many more interesting stories.
Lebanon turtles savior: She founded The Orange House Project, a turtle conservation & eco-tourism project. And for 17 years has worked to protect nesting sea turtles & hatchlings.
Another sea turtle freed from plastic garbage: This time in Malta. You can see the plastic line left marks around its flipper. 😢 (Video)
Disoriented hatchlings guided to the sea: Bright lights from the road confused them. Concerned residents called for help. Includes video. (Singapore)
Sea turtle blowing bubblegum bubbles?: Nope, just a perfectly timed picture of a turtle & a purple jellyfish!
More turtle hatchlings! This video shows green sea turtles on North Ambergris Caye, Belize. Too adorable!
Turtle scammers: Australian “penny turtles” don’t exist! Anyone selling them really has hatchling freshwater turtles, which will get big in a few years.
Will turtles ever return to Phuket?: Tourism & development over the past 20 years seems to have chased them away. But a nest on nearby Racha Island gives marine life experts hope.
Shark nets doing their job at the expense of other marine life: They’re making beaches safer, like they’re supposed to. But they’re also killing sea turtles, dolphins, and other sea life.
A safer way to move a snapping turtle: Turn it into a “wheelbarrow!” Really!
Speaking of snapping turtles … don’t annoy them! This man learned that the hard, painful way. (Despite this story characterizing the turtle as “murderous” and “vicious,” it was neither. It was simply defending itself.)
Abu Dhabi conservation efforts show progress: There’s renewed hope for several endangered species, including sea turtles.
Hope for the black soft-shell turtle: IUCN has declared them extinct in the wild. But a captive breeding program gives hope the species can survive. (Northeast India)