Posted on: 2017-07-07 09:30:47
🐢 Have you seen these recent turtle stories?
There’s no new box turtle news this week. But we are sharing a cute story we found a couple weeks ago.
There’s also a mix of fun, good news, and not so good news about our shelled friends. On both land and sea.
Recent Box Turtle News
What you can learn when a box turtle moves in.
Life lessons from a box turtle: The author shares what she has learned from a box turtle that has moved into her yard. 🐢
Recent U. S. Turtle News
Stories include a bit of fun with a camera, a turtle sand sculpture, and excitement over SC’s first green sea turtle nest of the season.
Talented turtle with video camera: Ok, so Oz the snapping turtle doesn’t actually have to do anything other than be himself. But he’s going to be contributing to science anyway!
Sand sculpting contest: From a brain to an alligator crawling out of a manhole, creativity was the name of the day. A hatching turtle (Turtle Birth) took 3rd place in the 16 and up age category.
Can turtle populations survive commercial harvesting? Missouri says no. At least not at current levels. The state’s Department of Conservation wants to limit commercial harvests.
Where are Tennessee’s alligator snappers? In very few places, apparently. Researchers recently found just two turtles after checking 28 sites. 😟
Turtle census video: On Tuesday we shared a story from herpetologyguy about a turtle census in Virginia. This video shows how they measure and tag the turtles.
South Carolina’s first green sea turtle nest confirmed! Mama sea turtle chose Garden City for her nest. Officials think she’s the same one who nested there in previous years.
New Jersey still considering balloon launch ban: We shared a story recently about efforts to ban balloon launches in the state. The balloon industry & others are still trying to derail those plans.
Also, the petition to name New Jersey’s state reptile is still open. And Memphremagog Conservation still wants your turtle sightings.
- Help elect the Bog turtle New Jersey’s state reptile!: Supporters from around the world have been signing the petition. Add your name! They’re still far from their goal of 5,000 supporters.
- Help count turtles around northern Vermont & southern Quebec: Memphremagog Conservation Inc is asking residents to report turtle sightings. The census runs from June through October.
Recent International Turtle News
Worries about the hawksbill sea turtle, and ideas to help save them. More sad news about turtles and plastic. And cute little Indian flapshells get a new home.
6 animals about to go extinct: The list includes the hawksbill sea turtle. 😢
Too many challenges for the hawksbill: Habitat destruction, fishing nets and more. The poor hawksbill is having a hard time surviving on the beaches around Melaka (Malaysia).
Save the coral reefs to save the hawksbill turtle? Well, it’s not quite that simple, but it seems to be an important part of the answer. Studies in Malaka (Malaysia) show these turtles spend most of their time in the reefs. One of their main foods is the sponges living there.
Loggerhead sea turtles need glasses : They’re biting swimmers after mistaking them for jellyfish! (Turkey) 😄
A long trip for treatment for a juvenile green sea turtle: The turtle flew from St. Croix to the Florida Keys, where the Turtle Hospital hopes to treat it. If everything goes well, it’ll be back home in St. Croix in about 2 years.
Turtle decapitation: The man was probably drunk, but that can’t excuse him. Police are looking for him. (Australia)
Studying sea turtle injuries: Endangered sea turtles with severe injuries have experts worried. They want to find out how the turtles are getting hurt. That’s the only way to figure out how to stop it from happening.
So many dead turtles with plastic in their stomachs: On New Zealand 1/3 of turtles found dead had eaten plastic. In some places it’s more like 100%.
Green sea turtle release: The Kudat Turtle Conservation Society is working to help people understand how important turtle conservation is. And it’s working. It released about 100 green sea turtle hatchlings recently. Around 2x that many people came out to watch the little cuties toddle off to the sea.
Indian Flapshell turtles are safe: Two hatchlings were found in a park. Wildlife SOS came out to rescue them. They were healthy and are now living happily in a lake in a bird sanctuary. (India)
And one more share for biscuit boy and his big dreams:
- Breads & cookies for the turtles: No, not for them to eat. An 11-year-old boy with big dreams sells them for humans to eat, then donates the money to sea turtle organizations. Now he’s selling a cookbook of his recipes to help even more.