Posted on: 2017-08-08 09:30:45
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Recent turtle stories we found interesting. Did you see these?
They include baby box turtles, counting box turtles, and disoriented baby sea turtles.
Also some turtle mysteries and a plan to rid the oceans of turtle-killing plastic.
Recent Box Turtle News
Counting box turtles & hatching box turtles. Love it! 🐢
43 years of Eastern box turtles: That’s right, since 1974! That’s how long the Muse family has been documenting the box turtles living on and passing through its Roanoke County property. They recently met boxie #200.
Baby yellow-margined Box Turtles!: They’re native to China, Taiwan, and part of Japan. They’re also endangered, so everyone at the Turtle Survival Center is excited to welcome 6 new members of the species.
And two other recent stories worth sharing again:
- 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
Stories include a missing leopard tortoise, a gopher tortoise found, and a reminder about lights on beaches.
Have you seen Alice? She’s an African leopard tortoise. She’s also an emotional support animal, helping keep her owner, who has PTSD, calm. (San Antonio)
Good news for Anna Maria Island nests: Last week’s storm may not have wrecked any sea turtle nests!
Sheldon had quite a long trip!: The gopher tortoise got out of her family’s back yard in Claymont, Delaware. She found herself at a shelter in North Myrtle Beach, SC before being sent back home.
Turtles are still hatching!: Hatching season is still in full swing. Please keep an eye out for slow-moving creatures crossing the roads.
And please, please, please dim your lights near nesting beaches: Baby sea turtles are getting all turned around after hatching. 😢 They’re ending up on roadways instead of the sea! (South Carolina)
Where did Tank come from?: The Sulcata Tortoise was taking a stroll down a Georgia street the other day. Since these guys are native to Africa, he must have been somebody’s pet. His new home is at the Macon Museum of Arts & Sciences.
Justice for Millenium: Remember the African spurred tortoise that was stolen from a Queens sanctuary? He’s been back home for a couple of weeks, but now his kidnapper has been arrested.
And two stories worth re-sharing. There’s still plenty of time to follow the Tour or share your turtle sightings:
- 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.
- Help count turtles around northern Vermont & southern Quebec: Memphremagog Conservation Inc is asking residents to report turtle sightings. The census runs from June through October.
Recent International Turtle News
Getting rid of plastic pollution in the oceans would save countless sea turtles & other marine life. Can we really do it?
Also, Ontario’s turtles are still in trouble, a reminder not to abandon pet turtles in the wild, and more.
23-year old plans to save the sea turtles—and all other sea life—from plastic pollution. And he plans to do it by getting all the plastic out of the oceans. Impossible you say? Just watch him.
Experience sea turtle rescue: Watch the team at the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo treat and release sea turtles. (Video or VR video)
Injured turtle mystery: Someone hammered a metal spike into a snapping turtle. Authorities are hoping someone knows who. (Calabogie, Ottawa)
What the heck’s a Hickatee? A critically endangered turtle found in Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize.
British Columbia asks people to stop abandoning their sliders: The popular pets are threatening the survival of native western painted turtles on Vancouver Island. The painted turtles are already endangered.
Protecting the turtles can help us too: Environmental projects in Australia show how both wildlife and the economy can benefit.
Ontario’s still worried about its turtles: The number of turtles coming to the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre is triple the number from last year. And there are no signs the flood of injured turtles will slow down. 😢 Most of them had been hit by cars.