Posted on: 2017-10-27 10:30:13
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Interesting turtle stories we found recently. Did you miss these?
Sea turtles had a good nesting year. Funding secured for a sea turtle habitat restoration project. And the New England Aquarium is prepared to treat cold-stunned turtles.
Plus a glimpse into how sea turtles may survive storms, a checkup for a favorite sea turtles, and more.
Recent U. S. Turtle News
It was a record sea turtle nesting year on some beaches, but now sea turtles are in danger of cold stunning, and snapping turtles are in danger from commercial harvesting. Plus more stories.
Anna Maria Island’s record-breaking year: The sea turtle season officially ends October 31. And the island’s Turtle Watch had recorded 488 loggerhead nests & 5 green sea turtle nests. The most ever! 💗
The million-dollar sea turtle habitat: 8 million dollars actually. And it’s not just for the sea turtles. But mostly for the sea turtles. The sea turtle habitat restoration project will replace sand lost to hurricane Matthew. Which will ensure the sea turtles have good nesting sites.
Cold Stunning Season is here: And that’s not a good thing. But the New England Aquarium is ready for it. When the waters in the area get colder, sea turtles that haven’t moved south can get the turtle equivalent of hypothermia. They get washed up onto the beach and the lucky ones make it to the Aquarium’s turtle hospital for rehab. (Massachusetts)
Operation Jungle Book puts smugglers out of commission: A tiger cub, lizards, cobras, & turtles. All animals recovered as part of the fight against black market exotic animals.
Leatherback sea turtle washes onto shore: Sadly, the poor thing was dead when it washed onto Seal Beach.. 🙁 There’s only a couple thousand of these amazing creatures left.
Commercial snapping turtle harvests are not sustainable: Populations are declining, which is bad for the species’ long-term survival.
And our two usual reminders: There’s just a few days left in the Tour de Turtles, and the Sea Turtle Open House is about a month away.
- There’s still time to follow the Tour de Turtles!: 5 days to be exact. When we checked, Soca was winning the Leatherback category and in the non-Leatherback group Eliza Ann is ahead of Cruz by a nose (or is that a flipper?)
- 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.
Recent International Turtle News
Recent stories include a study suggesting adult sea turtles may weather storms well, more than 1 million hatchlings released, and how everyone can help sea turtles.
Cancun and Riviera Maya’s sea turtle season ends: And a good year it was, with more than 1 million hatchlings released. That sounds like a lot (and it is!), but remember that only about 1 out of every 1,000 females will make it back to these beaches as adults to lay eggs.
Arrests for possession of turtle meat: A total of 11 persons were arrested for crimes ranging from possessing turtle meat to illegal fishing practices. (Sri Lanka)
Baby turtles on a mission: Little leatherback & green sea turtles heading for the sea in Costa Rica. (Picture) 💗
Eleanor laughs at storms: She got blown a bit off course, but wasn’t injured and didn’t use too much energy staying alive. Hopefully other adult sea turtles weather storms just as well. That would make it easier for conservationists to focus on saving nests in the path of storms.
Terry’s doing well: Poor Terry was just 7.7 kg back in August. But he expects his health checkup at the Melbourne Aquarium to go well and plans to go home in 2018. 💗 See video of part of Terry’s checkup here.
Simple ways anyone can help protect the sea turtles, along with the environment and other wildlife. Lessons learned on a trip to Turtle Island in Fiji.