Posted on: 2018-02-23 10:30:36

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Recent turtle news you may have missed.

Stories include an award for founders of a turtle rescue, a new adoption center for another rescue, and … well … rescues!

Plus power companies doing good, more efforts to reduce plastic pollution, and trying to understand sea turtle development.

Plus much more.

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Recent Box Turtle News

Power companies aren’t usually considered the good guys, but that’s not always fair. This company helped with clearing important turtle habitat. And there’s another story in the U.S. News section about a company in Alabama doing even more!

Power company helps clear box turtle habitat: Ameren Illinois helped the Illinois DNR clear vegetation from land two threatened species—the Ornate box turtle and the Illinois Chorus Frog—call home.

Recent U. S. Turtle News

This week we have a frozen turtle surviving its ordeal, two turtle rescues in California make the news, and a power company with an environmental mission.

Plus a sad farewell to a canine sea turtle conservationist, saving the alligator snapping turtle, and much more.

Frozen pet turtle recovering: Someone moved and abandoned a turtle in a tank. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the temperatures were so cold the water froze around the poor thing. The man responsible has been arrested.

Meet the people behind The American Tortoise Rescue: The husband and wife team began their rescue almost 30 years ago. And they’ve just received the 2017 Dolphin Awards, honoring community members who have improved the lives of those around them. (Malibu, California)

New tortoise adoption center in Northern California: Tortoise Acres Rescue and Sanctuary only opened in 2016. But it’s been quite popular. And now it’s even easier to adopt a scaly new friend. Owners Katie and Ken Hoffman have opened an adoption center in her pet grooming business in Anderson. They have box turtles, too! 😊

This power company protects its wildlife: Alabama Power’s Farley Nuclear Plant sits on about 1800 acres of land. But around 1400 of those acres is actually a wildlife reserve. Lots of species call the land home, including the endangered gopher tortoise. 💗 The company has even gotten an award for its conservation efforts.

RIP Ridley Ranger: Forget bomb or drug sniffing dogs. This special pooch could sniff out turtle nests! And he’d even protect hatchlings from predators. He was a very good boy. He also has a Facebook page.

Fishing trip turns into turtle rescue: A couple from Ohio, fishing off Costa Rica, interrupted their pleasure so the boat’s crew could free a turtle from a fishing net. Includes video.

Sea Turtle Inc.’s new facility is open: Fred the loggerhead and Jerry, two of the facility’s residents, seemed quite pleased with their new homes. (South Padre Island, TX)

Saving the alligator snapping turtle: One professor and his graduate students are working on understanding these secretive turtles. He’s also part of a program to reintroduce them to areas where they’ve disappeared. The hope is to establish self-sustaining populations again.

Are you sure that’s not a real turtle?! Yep, quite sure. It’s all glass. Includes video of part of the process, including fitting the glass body into the glass shell.

Fabio must really like Gulf World Marine Institute: Or he’s one unlucky turtle. He’s just finished his 4th rehab stay. Tangled in fishing line, cold stunned, and hit by a boat, this poor turtle has done it all.

10 Kemp’s Ridleys go home: Most of them were rescued after being cold stunned back in November. Kemp’s Ridleys are the most endangered of the sea turtles. Includes pictures.

And don’t forget the Sea Turtle Awareness Day in May!

• Sea Turtle Awareness Day at Clearwater Aquarium: It’s a sea turtle-focused day on May 12. Beach cleanup, sea turtle education, and games for the kids. Sign up if you live near the Aquarium or will be near Clearwater Beach that day.

 

 

Recent International Turtle News

This week’s stories include creative ways to spread the word about plastic pollution, a very rare turtle nest discovered, and sadly too many dead sea turtles.

Plus updates on turtle patients, a “talking” turtle, and more.

Checking in on a few sea turtle patients: Updates on some of the injured visitors to Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town, South Africa. Includes pictures.

These fishermen protect sea turtles: Often fishermen get blamed for fishing practices that hurt turtles. But in Cuddalore a group of fishermen collect Olive ridley eggs and bring them to a hatchery for safety.

Local Ocean Trust protects Kenya’s sea turtles: Conservation programs in the area actually started when locals got upset over turtle poaching and began patrolling the beaches. (Includes video)

The trashman looks silly but spreads a serious message: His outfit of plastic strips prompts curiosity. And that gives him more opportunity to explain what plastic is doing to our environment. (Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India)

Plastic bags are “the peak of human innovation”! So says Sam Neill in a satirical ad promoting the “virtues” of single-use plastic bags.

Visit a turtle hatchery in Borneo: On Libaran Island the Walai Penyu Resort and Conservation Park runs a turtle hatchery.

Understanding sea turtle development: We still have lots to learn about how sea turtles develop inside their eggs. But researchers are learning more all the time. And hopefully some recent research will help understand what goes wrong when the eggs don’t hatch.

Royal Turtle nest discovered, protected: The Royal Turtle (or Southern River Terrapin) is Cambodia’s national reptile, and highly endangered. Finding a nest is rare, but when it happens, the nest is protected until it hatches. And the hatchlings live at a conservation center until they mature and have a better chance of survival in the wild.

Too many dead olive ridley sea turtles: Visitors to the beach at Hukitola island (Odisha, India) have reported more than 100 dead turtles washed ashore over just a few days. 😥

Bentley has gone home! Do you remember Bentley? We shared her story back in November. She’s the green sea turtle who had to wear a weighted belt to stop her butt from floating due to trapped gas. She got the all clear & headed back to the sea along with 2 other turtles. (South Africa)

A talking turtle? Not really, but it sure looks like this guy’s trying to say something! (Video)

Cleaning up seaweed for the leatherback sea turtles: Too much seaweed along Trinidad’s coast can disrupt nesting. So officials are trying to stay on top of the clean-up. They’re also keeping an eye on seaweed levels in Tobago.

What did you do on your lunch break? This man saved a sea turtle trapped by fishing line. (Cayman Islands)