Turtle News Briefs, October 20, 2017

Posted on: 2017-10-20 10:30:49
Turtle News Briefs

Turtle News Briefs

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Turtle news we found interesting recently.

We found a 3-D printed turtle mask. Several turtle releases. A Navy turtle rescue. Plus a smuggler faces 20 years, and moving sea turtle eggs just got safer, among other stories.

Recent Box Turtle News

We didn’t find any new box turtle news. But if you haven’t seen these two we shared before, take a look.

  • What happens to box turtles in a forest fire? That was part of the talk Matt Cross gave to biology students at Central Michigan University. And apparently they do much better than he expected when he started his study.
  • Surveying Eastern Box Turtles: A project in Massachusetts aims to find and track Eastern box turtles and wood turtles in the Memorial Forest Reservation in Sudbury.

Recent U. S. Turtle News

Watch a baby loggerhead get introduced to the public at the Maritime Aquarium this afternoon. Track 3 recently released sea turtles. Check out a black-breasted leaf turtle’s nifty little 3-D printed mask. Plus much more.

Witness the 1st year of a baby loggerhead’s life: It’s a rescue sea turtle living at The Maritime Aquarium. It’ll be introduced to the public this afternoon (Friday, Oct. 20) on the Aquarium’s Facebook page!

Just a few unhatched sea turtle nests left on Anna Maria Island. Most of them probably contain unfertilized eggs, but some could still hatch a few eggs. The nesting season officially ends October 31.

Where are Solstice, Lightning, and Tucker now? Sea World released them on September 11 with trackers. Lightning & Tucker headed mostly south right away. Solstice took a bit of a detour first. Officials are hoping all 3 get to Mexico soon, for breeding season.

Miss Piggy is back home: She’s a green sea turtle who couldn’t dive & entered rehab at The Miami Seaquarium back in June. (Includes pictures)

After a year in rehab, a cold-stunned Kemps ridley heads back to sea: The turtle got stranded in New England last December but was finally well enough to go home.

Remember Maryland’s very first sea turtle hatchlings? We share the story a few weeks back, about the first nest ever to hatch at Assateague Island National Seashore. That story included just a couple of pictures. Here’s a few more, along with 3 short videos. Enjoy!

Third grade class adopts 2 loggerhead nests: After learning about threats to these sea turtles, the students decided they wanted to help. 💗

27 sea turtles released off NC shore: They were part of a sea turtle loan program in which various aquariums help care for the young turtles until they’re ready for release.

Students fostering endangered turtles: Clinton High School Greenhouse Club fosters red-bellied cooters as part of MassWildlife’s “Cooter Headstart” program.

Saving the gopher tortoise to save Georgia’s forest industry? Sounds like a win all around.

A real-life ninja turtle? Patches the black-breasted leaf turtle had a hole in her head. To keep out moss & infection, Zoo Knoxville & University of Tennessee 3-D printed her a little mask. 💗

It’s the 4th Southeast Regional Sea Turtle Meeting! It’s happening next February in Myrtle Beach. And it will include a special workshop for the public on how regular citizens can help sea turtle conservation.

US Navy launches rescue in Arabian Gulf: The creature in need was a sea turtle tangled in a half-sunken skiff. The operation was a success. 💗

Talking about the Spiny Softshell Turtle: Learn a bit about Vermont’s only aquatic turtle.

Turtle smuggler faces 20 years in federal prison: He imported turtles & fish illegally from Vietnam. Six turtles died. 🙁

And don’t forget about the Tour de Turtles. There’s still a few days left. And if you’re near South Wellfleet, MA, consider the Sea Turtle Open House in November

 

 

Recent International Turtle News

Recent stories include a new technique for safely moving sea turtle eggs out of danger. Also more funding for marine cleanup, thousands of baby turtles released, and more.

Turtle with a Mohawk? Yep! Well, not exactly. But the Mary River turtle has algae growing on its head. And yes, it looks a bit like a Mohawk. This turtle lives only in Queensland’s Mary River, and like so many other turtles, its endangered. (includes pictures)

Juvenile green sea turtle rescued: It was on its back on a beach in Sedgefield (South Africa). Luckily the people who found it saw it was alive & got it help. It is rehabbing at Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town. Story includes pictures.

Molecular proof turtles today look much like they did 54 million years ago: At least as far as coloration of sea turtles goes. Yes, scientists actually got usable biological molecules from a 54 million year old fossil! 😲

Moving sea turtle eggs safely … using kitchen supplies? That’s right. Apparently yes. Turtle embryos stop developing under low oxygen conditions. Which is a good thing when relocating nests. So researchers discovered vacuum-sealed bags do the job cheaply and effectively.

More marine cleanups hopefully means fewer injured turtles: Eco Barge has gotten funding to clean up more than 2500kg of marine debris next year. (Queensland, Australia)

Smugglers threaten the Pig nosed turtle: The black market trade has been so bad these turtles are now endangered.

Thousands of baby yellow-spotted Amazon river turtles run free: More than 5,000 to be exact. They were released into a nature reserve in Peru to try to preserve the population (before it’s endangered! 💗).

 

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