Turtle trackers: Environmental DNA used to detect rare species

Ethan Kessler, a doctoral student at the University of Illinois has been utilising a new scientific technique to detect the presence of rare or elusive turtle species.

He and his collaborators are testing the use of environmental DNA …

After 20 years in captivity, Yoshi the loggerhead sea turtle has traveled 37,000 km in 2 years

“We did not know all that much, but she crept into everybody’s hearts, and settled down really quickly.

“And she had an enormous personality.”

The aquarium staff learned a lot about …

How conservation dogs are changing how we protect endangered species, remove invasive ones, and detect diseases

“Working a detection dog is so much more than holding the end of the leash,” explains Holder. “You need to be able to think on your feet, keep yourself your …

Although turtles and tortoises are commonly associated with being slow or taking things slow, I constantly find myself always being in a rush even though my life is literally centered on these animals. It is a race to move from one task to another in …

Sea turtles nesting earlier in SC and Southeast as climate change takes hold

Leatherback and loggerhead sea turtles have started the nesting season off early. Reports indicate that at least five leatherback nests have already been laid at beaches in South Carolina – weeks early!

This phenomenon …

Plastic pollution poses threat to African turtle paradise

Despite conservation efforts by the oceanic island Príncipe—whose beaches provide crucial nesting sites for green, leatherback, and hawksbill turtles—sea turtles face a barrage of human-induced threats. The most prominent threat includes plastic pollution, where many turtles have been …

Olive Ridleys start sporadic nesting at Gahiramatha

The sporadic nesting of endangered olive ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys olivacae) has started at Gahiramatha beach, India. Around 20 turtles have laid eggs in the last two days at Nasi- 1 of the islands at the beach, said Forest …

Biologist Grégory Bulté creates 3D printed sex dolls to test mating habits of northern map turtles

Bulté and his team used a 3D printer to create two artificial female ‘sex dolls’ to test the reaction from males in the mood for mating.

One doll was a little …

USA: Calypso the famous green sea turtle passes at The National Aquarium, MD

Calypso was rescued by the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation Riverhead, NY in 2000 after stranding in the Long Island Sound with an infected front left flipper, which was later amputated …