Posted on: 2017-08-04 09:30:37
🐢
Turtle news we found interesting recently. Have you seen these stories?
We’ve got more box turtle research, fun sea turtle research, and amazing sea turtle pictures, among other stories. Take a look!
Recent Box Turtle News
Two new stories today. First about a vet’s take on what might be wrong with a box turtle patient. And more research on ornate boxies.
A vet explains a box turtle ear infection: Herbie’s human knew something was wrong when he stopped eating his favorite food. His vet explains what he thinks it is, and how to fix it.
Studying ornate box turtles: The Cornell College research has been going on for years. But this year they’re also trying to learn how the turtles see each other, using UV light.
And a couple more recent stories we still like:
- This yard is a box turtle haven!: At least one guy counts it as part of his regular habitat. The author includes pictures of the very colorful male turtle. 🐢
- Studying the Gulf Coast Box Turtle: For some reason this subspecies of box turtle hasn’t been studied much. One student at Antioch University New England wants to change that.
Recent U. S. Turtle News
Today’s stories include a fun research project, an escaped tortoise is back home, and one tough tortoise is back in the wild.
Follow the Tour de Turtles!: This fun but important project follows sea turtles for 3 months. It allows scientists to understand how they migrate from their nesting grounds to their feeding grounds.
And Eliza Ann made her 3rd nest this year!: Two weeks ago we shared that she’d made a false crawl after already laying 2 nests on Anna Maria Island. Well, a 3rd nest has now been confirmed! By the way, she’s also part of the Tour de Turtles.
Good news for Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles in Texas: They’ve laid a record number of nests this year (352 nests!). And smashed the previous record of 209 nests. Keep it up, guys!
Blanding’s turtle haven in Nebraska: The Sand Hills region is mostly undisturbed by human activity. So the turtles can live mostly in peace. Let’s hope it stays that way.
Diablo is safely back home: The desert tortoise had vanished from a retirement community in Albuquerque. But a good samaritan has made sure he got back to his worried owner.
Tammy the Tortoise released … again!: She’s a tough one. She survived a terrible dog attack 3 years ago. Needed a patch covering almost half her shell. Now she’s also survived near drowning. The same person who fixed her up before got her ready for release again. (Florida)
Recent International Turtle News
Some baby loggerheads may need a little extra help. Ontario’s Blanding’s turtles also still need help. And one turtle conservation center in Malaysia is helping a lot of turtles get off on the right foot (or flipper?).
Look out for stranded baby loggerheads!: They can get washed onto Bunbury beaches by storms. The Dolphin Discovery Centre already has several sick babies it’s caring for. If you find one, get it to them! (Australia)
A beautiful friend to Lebanon’s sea turtles: Ecologist Mona Khalil protects the nests and makes sure the babies get to the sea. She also educates people about the importance of protecting the turtles. See a video of her and her team releasing hatchlings here.
Sea turtle pictures!: These were some of the entries to a photo contest that didn’t make the finals.
Cherating Turtle Conservation Centre is making a difference: 4,746 turtles have hatched so far this year. Many more eggs are still incubating. (Malaysia)
Ontario still trying to protect the Blanding’s turtle: The species may be doing well in Nebraska’s Sand Hills (see story in US News section above). But everywhere else, including Ontario is a different story. The province halted a wind turbine project to protect them in 2013. But they still face many threats to their survival, especially from cars.
Lucky the sea turtle was indeed lucky: The young loggerhead was found wrapped in plastic line. (No, that’s not the lucky part!). The luck came in when it was able to go back home after just two days of observation.
Will New Zealand ban plastic bags? And hopefully make life easier for sea turtles & other wildlife in the process? Greenpeace New Zealand backs the effort. And two supermarkets have announced they’ll stop giving out single-use plastic bags, even without a ban. Read more here.
Don’t ride the sea turtles!: Can’t believe this still needs saying. But here’s video proof. Again. 😠
No night flights leaves travelers stranded on Zante: Nighttime flights are banned because the Greek island, also known as Zakynthos, is a nesting spot for loggerhead sea turtles.