Posted on: 2018-01-19 10:30:59
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Recent turtle news that caught our eye.
A sea turtle center in Florida gets a new, and really cute, ambassador. All those cold turtles in Texas signal good things (yes, really!). But warm nests could be a problem for lots of different turtles.
In sad news plastic, smugglers, and illegal fishing are all still problems for turtles.
Happier stories include a nesting olive ridley, helping a lost hatchling, and a lot of people working hard to protect a rare nest.
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Recent U. S. Turtle News
This week brings amazement at turtles living happily under ice (not sea turtles!).
Also another turtle population in danger of becoming all female. A possible change in status for leatherback sea turtles. And looking at the bright side of all those cold-stunned turtles.
Plus a new turtle ambassador in Florida and more.
Hello Sweet Pea! The Navarre Beach Sea Turtle Conservation Center welcomed its newest ambassador turtle yesterday (Thurs, Jan. 18). She’s a green sea turtle, and her injuries make her unreleasable. She’ll be ready for visitors when the Center reopens on Tuesday (Jan. 23).
Protected by ice: The pictured turtle was alive and well (if kinda slow), protected in its ice-covered pond.
Huge snapping turtle under ice! Isn’t nature amazing? Another (bigger!) turtle perfectly happy strolling along under a sheet of ice. Includes pictures. (Arkansas)
Don’t sit on sea turtles! Can’t believe that really needs saying, but apparently it does. To us it looks more like she has her legs draped over the turtle rather than sitting her whole weight on it … but that still counts as disturbing the turtle. So don’t do that either!
Painted turtles at risk of turning all female: Green sea turtles around the Great Barrier Reef are already almost all female. Painted turtles also depend on nest temperature to determine sex. And studies on a painted turtle population in the Mississippi River suggest the same will happen to them unless they can evolve quickly.
Thousands of cold-stunned green sea turtles on Texas shores are … good news?! Well yes. Because not that long ago there were barely any green sea turtles to be found anywhere in Texas. Cold snaps in the 1980s resulted in fewer than 20 cold-stunned green sea turtles. So lots of cold-stunned turtles this year means protections have been working.
RIP Turkey: You might remember the olive ridley sea turtle found on a beach in Washington state the day before Thanksgiving. Sadly, despite the Oregon Coast Aquarium’s best efforts, she died Jan. 8. You can also read the Aquarium’s announcement here.
175 billion straws every year: That’s how many straws we use in the US. The Last Plastic Straw, Be Straw Free, and other campaigns are trying to change that. Join them! The turtles & other wildlife will thank you.
Are leatherback sea turtle no longer endangered? A fishing group wants the population in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean to be listed as threatened, not endangered. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is considering it.
Recent International Turtle News
This week there were consequences for stabbing turtles. We get to watch a turtle make her nest and a hatchling dash across the beach.
We also discover a turtle rescue created mostly by accident. A lost baby turtle helped back to sea. Plans for making sure the future will still have male turtles. And much more.
A not-so-crazy turtle lady: The Manawatu Turtle Rescue started with one turtle someone couldn’t care for. The original indoor tank soon expanded into multiple outdoor ponds, the latest computer-monitored.
Turtle survives encounter with plastic bag: But only because members of the Rushikulya Sea Turtle Protection Committee saw it floating helplessly. (Odisha, India)
3 months in jail for stabbing 10 turtles: Do you remember the turtles found stabbed with pencils in a hospital pond in Hong Kong last October? The man who did it will spend 3 months in jail. Apparently he got mad when one bit him.
Smugglers foiled again! On the one hand, we’re happy to see vigilance in stopping smugglers & rescuing the turtles. On the other hand, we can be sure only some of the smugglers are getting caught. So how many more are getting away with it?
Sea turtle hatchlings dash across the beach: Watch as a nest begins to hatch and David Attenborough narrates a hatchling’s dangerous journey to the sea. (Yes, we see some get snatched by birds & a shark).
The last straw: For many people, the video of a sea turtle with a straw up its nose was just that. The last straw. And the movement against these useful but usually unnecessary plastic tubes keeps growing. So … have you had your last straw?
Illegal fishing still killing Olive ridleys: Fishing isn’t allowed within 20 km of the Paradip coastline. But officials tend to look the other way when trawlers and boats break the rules.
Good Samaritan get lost baby sea turtle back on track: He found the little thing in the middle of the road. Luckily he managed to scoop it up before it got run over. Now the cutie has a shot at a long life. Includes video. (Grand Cayman)
Protecting a rare nest: Boambee Beach is not a usual nesting site for green sea turtles. Rangers and residents have sandbagged & fenced off the green sea turtle nest, and so far it has survived the beach flooding. But it must still survive a few more months of beach activity. (New South Wales, Australia)
Plans to monitor nest temperatures in Oman: Since temperature determines sex, monitoring the temperatures can help biologists understand where they may need to make efforts to avoid a skewed sex ratio.
But who will protect the loggerheads? The nonprofit that has patrolled Nagatahama beach during nesting season may have to close due to lack of interest. 🙁 (Japan)
Eating sea turtle can be deadly: Apparently people get sick & even die every year. But still they eat the sea turtles. The problem is the turtles dine on algae, which doesn’t hurt them but makes their flesh poisonous for humans. (Madagascar)
Counting sea turtles with drones: A new study on olive ridley sea turtles at Ostional National Wildlife Refuge in Costa Rica shows more turtles than expected. It also proves drones work well for studying sea turtles.
Watch an olive ridley nesting: These moms don’t care if humans watch while they do their thing. Come along with the reporters waiting to see if they’d get lucky. And see the highlights of the hour-long process in about 2 minutes.