Posted on: 2018-06-22 10:30:27
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Interesting turtle news we’ve seen recently.
Sea turtle nesting season marches on, with early nests starting to hatch!
We also found stories on rescuing turtles, tagging turtles, and studying turtles. And they’re not all sea turtles, either. Wood turtles, painted turtles, and others also get some love. And of course the tiny bog turtle get a big honor.
Also 2 people doing their parts to save turtles, from cars & from plastic.
Plus much more.
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Recent Box Turtle News
This week more turtle traffickers caught and facing years in prison. Glad to see the crime being taken seriously. Hopefully the judge/jury will give a serious sentence, not a slap on the wrist.
Box turtle trafficker charged: He violated federal law by trading in Louisiana box turtles. Possible punishments include up to 5 years in prison for each of 4 counts he’s charged with. He’s apparently a state of New Jersey employee.
Box turtles among those trafficked by international smuggling ring: The ringleader faces up to 5 years in prison after pleading guilty to a 2nd trafficking charge. He was on probation for the original charge.
And to try to balance out the sadness & anger over trafficking in box turtles (or any turtles, really), these little cuties (from 2017) should make you smile.
Recent U. S. Turtle News
Sea turtles are still getting a lot of the attention. But this week other turtle species get to share the spotlight, including a big honor for a tiny turtle in New Jersey.
Also, more proof that one person can make a difference. Plus much more.
First up, the annual event that’s equal parts fun and serious science.
The Tour de Turtles is coming: And satellite tagging of the contestants has begun … or at least one contestant, a female loggerhead named Bortie.
Learn a bit about a few US turtles
Painted turtle musings and facts: The Last Green Valley is apparently a beautiful place to learn about these pretty turtles. (Connecticut)
Meet Kentucky’s semi-aquatic turtles: Curious about turtles native to Kentucky? This article introduces you to the Snapping Turtle, Eastern Mud Turtle, Spiny Softshell Turtle & others.
Sea turtles nesting & hatching
Boca Grande turtle season going strong: The island has 138 nests & the recent red tides don’t seem to have affected the turtles too badly. (Florida)
Lots of Kemp’s ridley’s hatching at South Padre Island: Hundreds of them have been pouring out of nests all week.
Other sea turtle happenings
Have you gotten your commemorative brick yet? The Georgia Sea Turtle Center’s commemorative bricks for the Legacy Walkway are almost gone. To finish out this fundraiser, the Center has lowered the price for the bricks to $100. All proceeds support the Center’s work.
It’s drugs & turtles again: There were several stories last year of sea turtles rescued near floating drugs. And they’re at it again. The Coast Guard recently seized more cocaine, arrested 2 dozen smugglers, and rescued 3 sea turtles tangled in fishing line. All in a day’s work, apparently! 💚 Includes video.
Tagging turtles for science: The Coonamesset Farm Foundation regularly takes trips to tag sea turtles & collect biological samples for evaluation. It recently completed its most successful trip yet, tagging 35 turtles. The tags do more than tell scientists where the turtles go, it also records things like temperature and how deep the turtle dives.
Holy-moley, Guacamole! This 238-pound green sea turtle is recovering nicely from serious shark attack wounds. She’s just been upgraded from her small tank to the “Deluxe Suite”! It took 3 strong people to lift her to her new home … and 4 more in the tank to “catch” her. Includes video. (Florida)
People making a difference
He’s trying to save the turtles by handing out starter packs of paper straws to restaurants: A Deerfield Beach man is visiting local restaurants asking them to only give straws on request and then to use paper instead of plastic. And he’s even giving them a free pack of paper straws to start.
One woman’s labor of love to protect the Western Pond Turtles: She’s putting up Turtle Crossing signs wherever the turtles have been seen crossing. Apparently a lot of people didn’t even know the area had turtles before seeing the signs. (California)
Planning to save New York’s wood turtles: Wildlife biologist Fred Ossman is trying to learn as much as possible about the area’s wood turtles. He wants to collect data to help with creating a conservation plan for the turtles.
45 years of wood turtles: This study involves periodic visits to a specific stream near the Catskills. The most recent visit turned up 2 turtles first marked in the 1970s. 😮
Other turtle news
New Jersey has an official state reptile! The federally threatened bog turtle gets the honor. Students who have lobbied for the tiny turtle for 2 years can now celebrate.
Living artwork a 2-year project: But it only lasted a few minutes. The turtle, visible only from above, is made up of students & staff from 3 Michigan elementary schools, along with lots of fabric & mulch.
Recent International Turtle News
Stories this week include new baby turtles, an ancient turtle fossil, and studying green sea turtles in the Persian Gulf.
Also an escaped tortoise takes a slow stroll while a released sea turtle is anything but slow. That’d be Yoshi …
It’s a Yoshi update! Two Oceans Aquarium’s (and possibly the world’s) favorite loggerhead is quite the traveler. She’s been traveling an average of about 27 km per day.
Other sea turtle news
Learning about the Middle East’s green sea turtles: Sea turtle populations in different parts of the world are … well, different! We know very little about the green sea turtles living in the Persian Gulf. Scientists are trying to change that.
Egg-laying sea turtles are active on Terengganu beaches … And so are poachers. But the Fisheries Department has been doing a good job of rescuing eggs and catching the poachers. (Malaysia)
Man finally sentenced for causing sea turtle death in 2009: He will spend 10 months in prison for the crime. (Israel)
Celebrating babies
Baby snappers head out to new life: Their mama was injured, but the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre saved the eggs & they hatched last fall. Now the babies have gotten a head start at survival and will live on Kawartha Land Trust land. Includes adorable little baby pictures. 🤗 💚
Golden thread turtle count increases by 2: Two eggs hatched in Taiwan last week. This was happy news because this turtle’s numbers have been declining in the wild.
Saving the Bellinger River Snapping Turtle: A virus nearly wiped them all out 3 years ago. But the Taronga Zoo is working hard to save the species. Includes video of the adorable little critter. (New South Wales, Australia)
Miscellaneous turtle news
Escaped tortoise lives up to their slow reputation: Fred made it a whole mile in a week. He’s safely back home now. 💚 (England)
Ancient turtle fossil found in southwest China: The snake-necked turtle fossil could be as much as 150 million years old. Snake-necked turtles no longer live in China.