Posted on: 2018-12-21 10:30:39

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After being mostly no-shows in the news lately, this week we found 3 box turtle stories! Two are happy. The 3rd involves a smuggler and a possible deal.

Elsewhere sea turtles are still washing ashore, cold & lethargic. And still getting tangled in human-created garbage. The lucky ones get rescued in time. And eventually get to go back home.

But plastic & other garbage isn’t the only threat they face. Apparently we’re sending chemicals into their homes too.

Other turtles find themselves headed for the wildlife trade. But some of them get lucky too.

No, the news isn’t all sad. Florida’s green sea turtles are doing great. And tracking released turtles is both fun and educational.

Plus more.

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Recent Box Turtle News

Box turtle stories were popular this week! And so was one little boxie who found herself at a shelter … but not for long.  💚 Elsewhere an injured boxie will spend the winter getting pampered.

And a box turtle smuggler wants a deal. 😕

Box turtle more popular than puppies & kittens?! Ok, probably not, but even those furry cuties usually spend more than one day at the shelter before getting adopted. But not Bata! Her family surrendered her on Thursday & she went to her new home Friday.  💚 (Arkansas)

Injured boxie all ready for release: But it’ll spend the winter at Wild Care Cape Cod & head out to the wild come spring.

Plea deal for box turtle smuggler: It’s not a done deal yet, but he has agreed to plead guilty in exchange for a deal.

Recent U. S. Turtle News

Cold-stunning season should be ending, but not quite yet. Rescuers are still working hard to find & save as many of these turtles as possible. We found other rescues, too. And a new way for rescuers to record data on their patients.

We also found a good-news story about green sea turtles in Florida. And some not-good news for leatherback & loggerhead turtles.

Plus a rare little turtle and more.

Sea turtle rescue news

Rescued sea turtles finally heading south: They missed their chance to migrate south to warmer waters before the cold hit the Cape Cod area. So last week another group of re-warmed turtles flew south. This group was loggerheads heading to North Carolina to continue rehab. Includes video.

Sea turtle brings construction to a halt: The green sea turtle was lethargic & covered in algae. So workers stopped until rescuers could get the turtle to safety. Includes video. (Florida)

It’s a sea turtle app! It’s called S.T.R.A.N.D., and it helps rescuers record data more quickly and get the turtle into care sooner too. Then they can keep using it to track the turtle’s care all the way to finding the best release site!

Leatherback sea turtle tangled in lobster trap lines: It had the line wrapped around its neck & front flipper. The Coast Guard helped Turtle Hospital staff free it. Includes video. (Florida Keys)

How does it feel to save a sea turtle? This student describes her first experience rescuing a cold-stunned sea turtle and getting it to Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary for care. Includes pictures.

Oregon’s cold-stunned turtles

Two turtles were rescued from Oregon beaches within a few days. Rescuers were hopeful at least one would survive. Sadly it was not to be. 😢

Good Samaritan & Oregon state troopers work together to save sea turtle: The good Samaritan saw a Facebook post about a stranded sea turtle that got washed back to sea before it could be rescued. So she went looking for it. Then the state troopers gave it a safe place to stay overnight until the Oregon Coast Aquarium could come get it. Good job everyone! Includes pictures. See a short update, with video, from a couple days later here.

Oregon Coast Aquarium gets 2nd sea turtle in one week: Just 3 days after an injured sea turtle was rescued another one washed up on the beach. This one was in better shape, with no obvious injuries. Includes short video.

Sadly both Oregon turtles died early this week: the Oregon Coast Aquarium plans to necropsy (animal autopsy) them both to find out what caused them to strand and die.

Other sea turtle news

Awesome sea turtle news from Central Florida: Green sea turtles were almost extinct in the area not too long ago. But not any more!

$22,000 for the turtles! It’s just the latest donation from Jen & Rick Civelli. They run camping programs & donate a portion of the campers’ tuition every year. 💚

Proposed changes to the Endangered Species Act threaten sea turtles: Specifically the leatherback and loggerhead turtles.

Miscellaneous turtle news

Meet the rarest turtle in the US: It’s the rough-footed mud turtle. This aquatic turtle has found a few wet spots to call home in the middle of the desert.

Texas’ turtle numbers keep dropping: Wildlife officials have been tracking 4 turtle species in the state & say that collecting them for the pet & overseas food market is not sustainable. Habitat loss has also worsened the turtles’ survival.

 

 

Recent International Turtle News

This week’s stories include more rescues & releases, plus one sea turtle who just couldn’t seem to stop laying nests!

Also some alarming news about chemicals in sea turtle bodies and another sea turtle population poised to go mostly female. Plus more.

But first, news about one of South Africa’s favorite girls:

Yoshi’s back! Well, not exactly. She’s not at the aquarium she left last year. She’s back in waters off South Africa, according to her tracker.

Sea turtle rescue & releases

Swim safe, Whoopi! His rescuers didn’t think he’d survive … they actually thought he was dead when they first saw him in November 2017. But survive he did. And now he’s back home. Includes picture. (New South Wales, Australia)

Are you keeping up with Doris? She’s a loggerhead turtle released off Malta on Dec. 11 with a tracker. And now people are literally waiting on her daily updates!

Baby sea turtles all grown up & back home: Three hatchlings found in early 2017 and raised at the Taronga Wildlife Hospital got their first taste of the open ocean recently. They went out with satellite trackers so researchers can see where they live, eat, & travel.

Fishermen free entangled sea turtle: It had one flipper tangled in a rope, making it hard to swim. They cut the rope & the turtle took off like a bullet, happy to be free. Includes video. (Southern India)

Miscellaneous sea turtle news

Leatherback nest in southern Thailand: The turtle chose a spot right in front of a resort hotel. The hotel director called authorities to protect the nest. Most of the eggs were safely moved to a more protected spot. Includes pictures & videos.

Great Barrier Reef turtles exposed to potentially toxic stew of chemicals: When scientists tested the turtles’ blood they found all kinds of drugs, pesticides, & other industrial chemicals. And they couldn’t even identify all the chemicals. Apparently the Marine Park Authority is now working on improving water-quality testing.

Bonni is quite the unique turtle: At any rate the green sea turtle surprised researchers by laying 5 nests this year.

Green sea turtle population boom followed by a crash? That’s the likely scenario from warming temperatures in South Africa. And across the globe. Those higher temps cause more female turtles. That’ll mean more nests & more hatchlings. But if nest temperatures get too high it’ll kill the developing turtles before they get a chance to hatch. 😢

Other turtle news

Remember the punk-rock turtle? It’s still in trouble. And so are other Australian turtles. 😢

“Flying Honu” makes its debut: “Honu” is the Hawaiian term for its green sea turtles. And the Flying Honu is an All Nippon Airways airplane (a set of 3, actually) that will fly between Tokyo and Honolulu.

Turtles rescued & sent back home: 7 lucky Giant Asian Pond Turtles & a Soft Shell turtle got their lives back after being rescued from the wildlife trade recently. Includes picture & video of release. (Cambodia)