Posted on: 2018-02-09 10:30:26
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Turtle news we’ve found interesting lately.
Stories include an arrest, a kiss & several rescues.
Plus turtles enjoying snacks, a creative way to protect sea turtle nests, and a 3-flippered turtle gets help with her nest.
Plus much more.
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Recent Box Turtle News
No new box turtle stories this week.
Enjoy this newly hatched baby boxie instead. Just too cute! 💚
Recent U. S. Turtle News
A short but mostly sweet collection of news stories today.
Except for turtle racing, which apparently can be dangerous to wild turtle populations. 😧
Turtle racing controversy? A petition from the Center for Biological Diversity asks towns to stop catching wild turtles to use in turtle races.
South Carolina to expand sea turtle exhibit: Thanks to Ingevity, a manufacturing company in Charleston. The $300,000 pledge will help fund a new educational area to highlight the harm plastics cause to marine life and the environment. Some funds will also go toward helping treat sea turtles hurt by plastic.
Kayaking with sea turtles! But not for fun. Wildlife biologist Allen Foley strapped sea turtles to his kayak—and even held one on his lap—to rescue them from the cold waters in St. Joseph bay back in early January. Now that’s doing whatever it takes. 💗
Yummy fishy snacks! Watch sea turtles at the NOAA Fisheries’ Woods Hole Science Aquarium snack on fish treats.
The Georgia Sea Turtle Center hiring for two 6-month positions: The positions involve giving presentations, leading turtle walks, other educational outreach & events, and other duties.
Recent International Turtle News
Around the world we have good news, including the arrest of a top smuggler and a sea turtle rescued by a tourist group.
Sweet stories like the sea turtle “kissing” a diver’s camera, and a mama who seemed to welcome help with her nest.
And sad news, including someone deliberately killing turtles, and fewer turtle nests in Malaysia.
Illegal turtle trade kingpin out of business: Special task force officers of Madhya Pradesh forest department (in central India) arrested him last week. Good work! He was apparently one of the top 3 rare turtle traffickers internationally.
Who would do this to the turtles? Someone has smashed turtles against the rocks at Yarramundi Reserve in New South Wales, Australia. Warning: Story includes several photos of the dead turtles. 😥
Spontaneous turtle kisses? It sure looked like it in this video! A beautiful hawksbill turtle suddenly turns & pecks at the diver’s camera.
Turtle landings down by 1/3 at Labuan Marine Park: The absolute numbers of nests were never high (21 in 2016). But for endangered sea turtles, every nest counts! Lights from oil rigs, drifting timbers landing on the beach, and other threats may be to blame. (Malaysia)
Outstanding turtle rescue: One green turtle owes her life to a tourist curious about the noise she heard. It turned out to be an upside down green turtle, trapped in mangrove roots. The group’s tour guide had to go a bit off script to coordinate the rescue. Includes video. 💗 (Australia’s Great Barrier Reef)
Morgan the junior sea turtle champion to meet Morgan the rescued sea turtle: The young turtle conservation enthusiast is heading to the Maldives to film and learn about the injured olive ridley turtle. Morgan the turtle had 2 flippers amputated & will soon move to posh new digs in Britain.
Cane toads protect loggerhead nests from goannas? No, they don’t chase the lizards away … not directly anyway. But when researchers put dead toads (already dead, not killed for the experiment!) on the nests, the goannas avoided those nests. That’s because the lizards have learned to avoid eating the deadly toads. (Queensland, Australia)
Yummy jellyfish feast! I actually feel a little sorry for the jellyfish, but these 3 juvenile green turtles were just hungry. Video. (New South Wales, Australia)
She welcomed help to dig her nest … again: Normally you shouldn’t disturb a nesting turtle. But this girl was missing a hind flipper & having trouble digging a proper nest.
Cutie-pie unhooked: An adorable little freshwater turtle got itself caught on a fish hook. WIRES came to the rescue & hope to release him soon. (New South Wales, Australia)