Posted on: 2018-09-07 10:30:16
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Turtle news you may have missed recently.
Sea turtles keep hatching, and we keep watching. We love watching rehabbed turtles head home, too.
Also spiny softshell turtle age limits get revised, a Blanding’s turtle population gets healthier, and a Manning River turtle conservation project gets underway.
Plus much more
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Recent Box Turtle News
This week we found 2 boxie stories, each heartwarming in its own way.
Quincy doing great after amputation: Believe it or not, she still has 4 legs! The Eastern box turtle spent more than a decade with 5 of them. But recently that extra one was causing problems, so off it came. She and her buddy Tripod (who lost a leg before she was rescued), along with Igor, are living the good life at the Ansonia Nature Center in Connecticut.
A simple cage gives one baby boxie a chance at life: After he saw a box turtle laying eggs in his yard, a kind man made a cage to protect the nest. And was rewarded when he saw a little hatchling emerge and promptly dig itself a little burrow to hide in. 💚
Recent U. S. Turtle News
This week we found more baby sea turtles (yay!), flooded nests (boo), and a dozen or so sea turtles have gone back home.
Also a reminder to clean up after yourselves, a surprising discovery about some spiny softshell turtles, and … Pavlov’s turtles?
Plus more.
First up we have an item for the “not bright” files …
Don’t try to kiss the snapping turtle … We can’t believe this has to be said, but this man proves it does. Also, don’t haul one out of the water the way he does.
Hatchling videos
We love ‘em, and this week we found 3 more of ‘em 💚
Baby sea turtles! And a nest excavation. 💚 Includes video & pictures. (Destin, Florida)
Tiny turtle vs big waves: Well, not really that big … unless you’re a tiny turtle. It’s a wonder they ever make it to sea, but make it they do … sometimes with a little help. 💚 Video. (North Carolina)
Baby sea turtles on the Outer Banks: 56 seconds of adorableness.
Sea turtle releases
4 cold-stunned sea turtle finally back home: It took most of a year, but the 3 Kemp’s ridley and 1 green sea turtle were finally healthy enough (and the water warm enough) for release. Includes video. (New York)
5 sea turtles head back to sea from Virginia Beach: They all had various injuries when they came in to the Virginia Aquarium. Includes video.
Bye-bye & Good luck, Tammie! The 235-pound loggerhead made a beeline for the water as soon as they opened the box. She’d been in recovery since June 2017, so we can’t blame her for being eager to get back home! Glacier, Shellbie, and Junior—3 Kemp’s ridley turtles—also went home Sept. 5. Includes video & pictures. (New Jersey)
Sea turtle rescues & other news
Improved water quality in Long Island Sound a double-edged sword? Cleaner water may be attracting more turtles. And that may be leading to more boat strikes from boaters who aren’t used to watching for turtles. Three turtles have died from boat strikes over 6 weeks. That may not sound like much, but it is both unusual and unacceptable according to scientists.
Fishermen ask you to please clean up after yourselves: They make this request on a video showing them freeing a little sea turtle from a mess of netting. It was wrapped around its neck. (Freeport, Texas)
Red tide overwhelming some rescue centers: The Center for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW) has had to send some of its turtles to other centers to finish their rehab so the center would have room for new arrivals.
Another busy year at the South Carolina Aquarium: They’ve taken in 31 turtles so far this year. Many have “debilitated turtle syndrome” which can take up to 2 years to treat.
Tropical storm Gordon floods sea turtle nests: Gulf Islands National Seashore officials believe the storm most likely destroyed as many as 46 nests.
Miscellaneous turtle news
New study ups estimated age limits for spiny softshell turtles: The population living in the Missouri River in Montana may live up to 100 years! Earlier estimates were 20 – 30 years.
Saving Illinois’ Blanding’s turtles: A Lake County Forest Preserve program has made area populations healthier by improving survival at every stage of life, from egg to hatchling to adult turtles.
These turtles know where to find their breakfast: Their benefactor originally thought he’d fish off his deck. But the turtles had other ideas! And now he calls them with a bell. 😮 Includes video. (Illinois)
Guilty pleas for trafficking turtles between South Carolina & China: They wrapped turtles in candy wrappers & socks, labeled them as “snacks,” & shipped them both to and from China. The ringleader pleaded guilty back in June, and on Wednesday (Sept. 5) 4 others involved did the same. The 4 each face up to 5 years in prison & $250,000 fines.
Recent International Turtle News
Conservation works. But we still need to do something about all that plastic … and people who think painting turtles is a good idea.
Also a turtle recovering from a fight, temple turtles can breathe easier in clean water, and more.
Conservation news
Manny is a very special turtle: The Manning River turtle is the very first member of what will become an “insurance population” of the endangered turtles.
She loved turtles as a girl: And then she founded the Turtle Conservation Society of Malaysia, working to protect the country’s freshwater turtles.
Oaxaca beaches are proof that conservation works: In the 1980s only about 120,000 olive ridley turtles nested there each year. In 2017, 4.6 million turtles crawled ashore to lay their nests. That’s a huge increase in only about 30 years. (Mexico)
It was love at first sight: The sight was a nesting loggerhead turtle on the southern coast of Turkey. And the woman who saw her soon moved in & has been protecting the turtles & their beach ever since. See pictures here.
Microchipping rescued turtles in Mumbai: Wildlife Conservation and Animal Welfare Association is now microchipping turtles it has rehabbed before releasing them. This will help identify any animals that get rescued again in the future. It has already released the 1st 2 microchipped Olive Ridleys.
Sea turtles vs. plastic
Caught in drift nets with a stomach full of plastic: Rescue came too late for the leatherback sea turtle off the coast of Malta last month. A necropsy (animal autopsy) showed she had suffered a lot in her short life … all because of our garbage. 😥
Most green sea turtles in the Gulf of Oman have eaten plastic: A recent study looked at 14 dead turtle that had washed ashore. The poor things had eaten everything from ropes & fabric to plastic bags & fishing nets. 😥
Other turtle news
Asia and illegal turtle trafficking: Demand for turtle meat and/or turtle pets in Asia is driving much of the black market turtle trade. According to this commentary, Asia is also the key to stopping it all.
Injured in a turtle fight? We’ve never really thought about it, but other animals fight, so why not turtles? Apparently that’s exactly what Gabriel did, and he’s a bit battered from the experience. But he should be fine. (Malta)
Cleaning up temple ponds for the turtles: Ritual offerings thrown into the ponds can pollute the water so badly the turtles have trouble surviving. At one temple a Kurma idol on an altar gives the faithful someplace else to leave their offerings. And the turtles are already better off for it. (India)
Vendors in China selling turtles completely covered in paint: They come in all kinds of colors & designs. And social media users in the country are outraged. We hope that outrage can translate into stopping such cruelty.
Lucky sea turtle rescued from poacher: Security officers stopped a man carrying a bag, which he dropped & ran. Turned out there was a live sea turtle in there. Includes picture & short video. (South Africa)