Posted on: 2019-02-01 10:30:43
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It’s another short News Briefs this week.
There’s a couple of snapping turtles, a few sea turtle rescues, and several releases. One of those releases was a long-term resident who’s ready to head out & hopefully nest later in the year.
There’s also, sadly, some abandoned turtles believed to have been pets and lots of abandoned turtle eggs.
Plus more.
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Recent Box Turtle News
Box turtles are still brumating & staying out of the news. We sure do hope they’re making it through this polar vortex deep freeze okay.
In the meantime, baby turtles always make us feel better. Here’s a baby Keeled box turtle (Cuora mouhotii), one of the Asian box turtle species at a conservation center in Vietnam. Isn’t it adorable?!
Recent U. S. Turtle News
Turtles around the US are pretty quiet these days, which is good since most of the country’s too cold for them!
Speaking of cold, many cold-stunned turtles are still in care, slowly recovering. That includes the 37 turtles at the North Carolina Aquarium’s STAR Center. Staff expects them all to eventually go back to sea.
We also found a cool video of an old snapping turtle saying hi. The algae-covered turtle approaches the photographer just to check him out apparently.
And Shelldon the snapping turtle’s getting a new home: The Moosewood Nature Center in Michigan is raising money to give its resident snapper a bigger, custom-designed enclosure.
Plus 2 more stories.
A reminder to leave sea turtles alone: Getting too close can cause stress to the animal. And it’s illegal in many places too. The author of this story was shocked at how many people don’t seem to care.
Coast Guard to the rescue: A green sea turtle is recovering at the Loggerhead Marinelife Center thanks to the Coast Guard crew who saw it struggling & called in another crew to help.
Recent International Turtle News
This week we found hope that a recently rescued sea turtle can recover. Hope that a recently released sea turtle will find a mate & come back to nest. And an amazingly life-like sand turtle in the middle of a city. Plus more.
But first …
Watch a green sea turtle napping: This short clips shows the green sea turtle close its eyes & start bobbing on the coral. Too cute! 💚
Sea turtle rescues & releases
Rescued loggerhead showing signs of feeling better: She’s still in critical condition, but lifting her head has given staff a bit of hope little Destiny may recover. And apparently she’s been captured at least 2x before. Once shortly after hatching in the early 1980s & again after nesting in 2005.
Green turtles don’t belong in swimming pools! The story doesn’t say how she ended up there, but it doesn’t seem like it was an accident. Officials say she was in good shape & they released her after just a few days. Includes pictures & video. (Guam)
6 green sea turtles caught in nets go home: These turtles survived their encounter because the fishermen who caught them understood how to rescue them & get them help. Includes video. (Argentina)
Herbie goes home after 15 years: She came into care in 2003 as a juvenile. In recent years the loggerhead has started nesting, so staff decided it was time to let her go find a mate. See video of her release here. (South Africa)
Other turtle news
Giant sand turtle in the middle of Sydney: The turtle is modeled on SEA Life Sydney’s resident turtle Myrtle. Sand Myrtle brings attention to both Sea Life’s new exhibit on the Great Barrier Reef and the human-created dangers sea turtle face. Includes video showing stages of the sculpting process and Myrtle herself. (Australia)
3 turtles abandoned in front of animal sanctuary: It is a sanctuary for dogs & cats, but they were able to get another organization to come pick up the turtles. Rescuers believe they had been pets. We really wish people would realize that cute tiny little turtles rarely stay tiny. (India)
More than 10,000 sea turtle eggs abandoned: Environmental officers discovered the eggs in several bags on the beach. Sadly they’d been out of their nests too long & were not viable. ☹️
Year’s 1st nests at Shangri-La Resorts Muscat: The resort’s beach is one of 5 turtle nesting beaches in Oman. A hawksbill turtle laid the year’s 1st nest on Jan. 7.