Posted on: 2018-12-28 10:30:49
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Recent turtle news you may have missed in all the holiday excitement.
Sea turtles keep capturing hearts as they’re rescued, released, or welcomed into permanent care. And sometimes one wants a job as a model …
Sadly turtle smugglers & poachers keep taking thousands of turtles from the wild, endangering their survival. Some get caught and punished. But not enough.
Plus more.
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Recent Box Turtle News
Box turtles are staying out of the news again. So we share this picture we came across of the unique-looking and beautiful Yucatan box turtle (from the Exo Terra FB page).
Recent U. S. Turtle News
Why are more & more sea turtles getting stuck in the colder waters up north every fall? How do aquatic turtles survive under water in the winter? Find (some of) the answers this week!
Plus a special turtle finds a new home with lots of love. Another turtle heads home. And we’re still reducing the number of plastic straws in use.
And more.
Sea turtle stranding news
Saving cold-stunned sea turtles requires quiet determination: Literally quiet. Too much noise adds extra stress to the already stressed animals.
Warmer waters in Gulf of Maine is bad news for turtles? When it attracts more turtles & encourages them to stay too long, it can be. That’s part of the reason for the increase in cold-stunning cases.
Sea turtle rescue news
Welcome to your new home Snorkel! This young loggerhead suffered trauma that left her blind and missing her upper beak. But the staff at Clearwater Marine Aquarium love her and will make her life as comfortable and interesting as possible. 💚 Includes picture and video. (Florida)
Good luck, Mystogan! The loggerhead sea turtle came to Sea Turtle, Inc with 3 hooks in its body, an infection, and anemia. But after 3 months in rehab it was finally time to go home last week. Includes video. (Texas)
Other turtle news
Another man pleads guilty in turtle-smuggling operation: Five men had previously pleaded guilty to various charges related to a turtle-smuggling operation based in Holly Hill, South Carolina. Last week a 6th man admitted to being part of the operation. 😠
How painted turtles spend the winter: Like other aquatic turtles, these animals spend the winter under the ice, either moving slowly or burrowed in mud. So how do they breathe?!
Soon there’ll be at least 140,000 fewer plastic straws used each year: That’s the number of straws Lehigh University and Lafayette College use each year. But the 2 schools and other colleges in the area are phasing out plastic straws in favor of paper and reusable ones. The turtles (and other wildlife) thank you! 💚 (Pennsylvania)
Recent International Turtle News
This week conservationists are working hard to help 2 very rare turtle species survive. There’s lots of obstacles but they’re staying optimistic.
And there’s lots of encouraging news for sea turtles, too … including official protections & limiting human activity in turtle nesting areas. Also compensating fishermen for losses from letting turtles (& other marine life) go free.
Plus more, not all of it so encouraging.
But first, hundreds of turtles & tortoises finally have a place to go …
The Living Turtle Museum has a new home! This unique museum was supposed to leave its Chinese Garden home back in March. But it has been allowed to stay while the owner looked for a suitable place for the 500 turtles & tortoises that call it home. And in January they’ll be going to a newly built, more spacious museum in Yishun. 💚 (Singapore)
And one turtle has perfect timing …
Photobombed by a turtle: Diver & underwater photographer tries to take a selfie with his dive partner. And a turtle stole the shot! Plus at least 2 more. 💚
Sea turtle protection news
Nicaragua’s sea turtle protectors: This group of female park rangers manages to save most of the nests on the beaches they patrol. On unpatrolled beaches almost all nests are lost. 😢
Mass nesting started & fishing banned: Forest officials have banned fishing to allow safe Olive Ridley mass nesting in Puri (eastern India).
Monitoring sea turtle nests & reefs is a lot of work! See how one expedition gets ready and gets the job done in Ecuador. (ongoing project)
Fishermen in Maharashtra (India) will be rewarded for doing the right thing: When they catch a protected marine animal, like a turtle or shark, they often have to cut their nets to free the animal. This costs them money they can’t afford, because they lose their catch and the net can become useless. Now they can file a report, with proof of the incident, and get compensated. Hopefully this can help save more animals.
Other sea turtle news
Sea turtles stranded after tsunami in the Sundra Strait are back home: A team of people originally looking for human victims of the storm came across the turtles earlier this week. Eighteen turtles went back to sea on Wednesday. 💚 It’s wonderful to see people caring about rescuing all life after such devastation to their own lives. (Indonesia)
Are Chinese poachers endangering Japan’s turtles? A Japanese conservation group believes they are the reason for a steep drop in nesting turtle numbers in just the past 5 years.
Miscellaneous turtle news
Thousands of red-eared sliders confiscated: Two men were smuggling them through the Chennai International Airport (eastern India). They each had 2,400 turtles and received fines.
Can this turtle rebound from just 4 to a healthy population? That’s what scientists are hoping to do for the Yangtze giant softshell turtle. All efforts up to know have failed, but they’re not giving up. And up until last April they thought there were only 3 left in the world. So they have reason for optimism.
Reintroducing black soft shelled turtles to the wild: The IUCN lists the turtle as extinct in the wild. But conservationists have been breeding populations of the turtles living at temples. Now some of the hatchlings will go out into the world, hopefully to start repopulating the rivers.