Posted on: 2017-11-24 10:30:37
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Turtle news we found interesting recently.
Lots of sea turtle nests in the US this year. And lots of positive progress on sea turtle conservation over many years, around the world.
But certain human activities still cause problems everywhere.
Plus some releases, some rescues, and more.
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Recent Box Turtle News
Most wild box turtle are hibernating … except for the ones this guy had captured and was trying to sell. 🙁 But he tried to sell them to the wrong person.
Probation & a fine for shipping box turtles across state lines: Byron Paul Pitre had more than 230 box turtles at his home, along with map turtles, Sulcata tortoises, and others. He had sold 3 of the box turtles (to an undercover agent … oops!) & shipped them to Texas. That shipment violated both federal law and Louisiana law.
Recent U. S. Turtle News
A few sea turtles head home, and some terrapins go to school for a head start.
Record sea turtle nests in some areas is wonderful news. But they came with an increase in hatchlings disoriented by artificial light.
Also, craft beer lovers in Cape Fear can soon enjoy a brew and help the sea turtles. The rest of us might want to check out a kickstarter to support a sea turtle documentary.
Drifter has gone home: The 150-pound loggerhead got caught in fishing line left behind by hurricane Irma. After a few weeks of rehab, Drifter was ready to get back to the sea. Includes video. Al Roker & the Today Show was on hand for the release! (Key West, Florida)
Back a sea turtle documentary: The film focuses on 2 sea turtle hospitals working hard to save these ancient, endangered animals. 💗 The kickstarter needs to raise $18,950 by December 28.
New Surf City brewery will help sea turtles: The Salty Turtle is a craft brewery and tavern opening in December. The owners plan to partner with The Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center to support its work.
Florida’s green sea turtles had a good year: The approximately 39,000 green sea turtle nests made for a record year! The number has been steadily rising in recent years, and it’s up a lot from fewer than 500 nests about 30 years ago.
Guill defied the odds & goes back home: The Kemp’s ridley sea turtle was in bad shape 4 months ago. He was all tangled up in fishing tackle. 🙁 But on Monday morning he was well enough to go back to the sea. 💗
Diamondback terrapin hatchlings go to school: They’re part of a head-start program to let them grow before releasing them into the wild. Students at 2 elementary schools will take care of the tiny critters until next summer. (Maryland)
More land for threatened & endangered species: The Thousand Islands land trust expanded its Crooked creek Preserve by 300 acres. Animals benefiting include the Blanding’s turtle, black tern and pug nose shiner (a fish).
Turtle conservationists win Archie F. Carr Medal: They were graduate students of Dr Carr’s and have gone on to distinguished careers studying various turtle species. One even has 3 turtles named after him!
Turbo the tortoise takes a stroll: Seems like we’ve seen a lot of escaped Sucatas lately! Turbo allowed himself to be caught & is now back home safely.
Longboat Key stresses education to protect turtles: The island saw record numbers of nests this year, but unfortunately also more disoriented hatchlings. And the problem is mostly bright lights causing the babies to go in the wrong direction. But officials are trying to educate the public before resorting to citations.
Visit the National Marine Life Center’s open house this weekend. It runs from today through Sunday. If you’re near Buzzards Bay, take a tour, have some refreshments, and help “stuff-a-truck” with supplies to benefit its animals.
And don’t forget Wellfleet Bay’s Sea Turtle Open House is also tomorrow!
- Learn about sea turtles: It’s a Sea Turtle Open House at Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary in South Wellfleet, Massachusetts. It happens on Saturday, November 25, from 11 am to 2 pm.
Recent International Turtle News
Researchers keep learning more about turtles’ unique physiology. And how to improve conservation efforts. Meanwhile those conservation efforts have gotten literally millions of hatchlings to the sea.
But human pollution (plastic and light) is still an issue …
Why turtles are so much cooler than you: They can breathe through their butts! And that’s part of how they survive hibernation.
Could barnacles actually help sea turtles? Well, yes. In a round-about way, anyway. Too many barnacles is still a bad thing. But a few may just help improve conservation efforts. That’s because researchers have figured out how to analyze the barnacles on a turtle to learn where it’s been. And tracking turtles by their barnacles is much cheaper than satellite tracking. (Australia)
Saving the turtles has saved him: Tourettes derailed many of his dreams & plans. But rescuing turtles gave him a purpose. They need him, and he has re-homed more than 100 turtles so far. He plans to expand his efforts. (UK)
Improvised sea turtle rescue: These guys didn’t have a knife to cut the rubbish off the poor turtle. But they didn’t let that stop them. In the video, Terry the turtle seemed quite patient with their efforts. And was quite happy to swim away. (Malta)
Blue Planet 2 documents plastic in the sea: The team found plastic almost everywhere they filmed. And they had to rescue several animals, from a turtle to a whale. For others it was too late. 🙁 In the UK, Michael Gove has vowed to take action against plastic in the oceans.
And a few days later, a diver saves a sea turtle from plastic: The diver’s trip to the red sea took a sad turn when he realized the turtle he was photographing wasn’t eating the jellyfish around her. She had a plastic bag in her mouth. But she let him get the plastic out and then gobbled down a few of those yummy creatures.
17 million turtle hatchlings Wow, that’s a lot! It’s also approximately how many hatchlings the Malaysian state of Sabah has released in the past 40 years. Good job! 💗
80 thousand sea turtle hatchlings: Another impressive number! And that’s for just this year. All those hatchlings are from more than 1,900 nests Puerta Vallarta has protected so far this year. And they’re not done yet.
460,000 sea turtles: Many countries seem to be assessing their conservation efforts lately! And they should be proud of their efforts. In this case, the sea turtles are olive ridleys, and the country is Honduras. The turtles have been released over the past 9 years in a collaborative efforts between Lufussa and the Honduran government. Lufussa is an energy company that believes in protecting the environment.
Schoolchildren write & illustrate book about protecting sea turtles: It’s called Too Bright Tonight, and it explains why to dim lights at night around sea turtle nests. Proceeds from the book will benefit the Mon Repos Turtle Centre and Save the Loggerhead. (Queensland, Australia)
Yoshi will have company heading back to sea: Her going-home party at Two Oceans Aquarium was earlier this week. But she’s not leaving until December. Leaving with her will be 25 juvenile loggerheads that were stranded earlier this year.
Leatherback turtle’s life is worth one year of yours: Liberia has sentenced a man to one year in prison for killing the turtle. The country’s laws forbid killing several endangered species, including the leatherback turtle.
Operation Oliva has launched: The program aims to protect nesting olive ridley sea turtles off the coast of the Odisha district, India. It’s a round-the-clock effort using a Coast Guard ship and aircraft to monitor and prevent illegal fishing in the area.
Please don’t feed the sea turtles! They’re wild animals that need to follow their own diet for the best chance of survival. And too much contact with humans increases the chances of them hanging around boats & getting hurt or caught on fish hooks. 🙁
Interactive turtle rescue: Now anyone (in New Zealand, anyway) can become a turtle rescuer. Called Turtle Rescue (of course!), the interactive experience lets visitors rehabilitate their very own digital turtle and then release it. Turtle Rescue opens at Kelly Tarlton’s Sea Life Aquarium on December 11.
3-legged hawksbill sea turtle may get chance at freedom again: It survived surgery to remove a hook from its stomach. But it will be a while before the veterinarian team will know if it can be released back to the sea. (Thailand)
3 turtles moved safely out of construction zone: Construction was stopped while the turtles were moved. Now that’s the kind of concern for wildlife we like to see. 💗 (Australia)