World Turtle News

Turtle eggs are being sold openly in Sabah, Malaysia despite being illegal, tourism may be playing a part Neither the poster nor the presence of police officers deterred the operation, and business was booming. Families and individuals drove by the corner in cars or simply walked up straight to the men to complete the transaction in broad daylight. The sale and consumption of eggs for […]

World Turtle Day to see release of 200 Cantor’s giant softshell hatchlings 200 of one of the world’s rarest freshwater turtle, the Cantor’s giant softshell (Pelochelys cantorii), are set to be released into the Mekong River in Kratie province’s Kampong Cham commune on 25th May by Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). The Cantor’s softshell turtle is currently listed as critically endangered of IUCN Red List. This

Lovers Key beach cleanup protects sea turtle nesting (video) People of Southwest Florida are joining together for a mammoth beach clean project! Volunteers are partnering with Sephora Coconut Point and Ren Skincare to clean up Lovers Key State park. Typical items people will be looking for are plastic such as straws and any other type of man-made trash which could be detrimental or harm native

12 rare turtles with names like ‘Thor’ and ‘Taco’ released into wetlands Consumers Energy employees released a dozen of rare juvenile Blanding’s Turtles into the wetlands of Saginaw County on Thursday, May 16. The bale of turtles, all females, was released in a wetland near the James Township Hall, 6060 Swan Creek Road, an area where the energy company did construction for its Saginaw Trail

Janette Mikity’s leatherback sea turtle nesting photos from Trinidad go viral Beautiful photos of a leatherback turtle nesting on Trinidad’s north coast have gone viral online. Facebook user Janette Mikity shared the photos via social media on Wednesday, showing a huge leatherback turtle nesting along Grande Riviere beach. ALSO: sulcata tortoise found wandering North Miami Beach, owner sought- see Miscellany section for details Turtle News

Zoo Knoxville welcomes critically endangered spider tortoise hatchling Zoo Knoxville has welcomed its latest animal, a Critically Endangered spider tortoise (Pyxis arachnoides) which hatched this week. Spider tortoises are endemic to Madagascar and are the smallest of the island’s four native species. These tortoises are extremely vulnerable to poaching and illegal collection, which has greatly reduced its wild population. These tortoises are also unique in

Turtle defecates plastic after swimming in ocean filled with rubbish (video) A green turtle (Chelonia mydas) was rescued from a fishing net off the coast of Buenos Aires and taken to the Mundo Marino Foundation. Afterward, it was discovered that it had ingested large quantities of plastic which had been floating in the ocean. The turtle had no option but to allow the large quantities

Petticord explores a Kenyan ecosystem one tortoise at a time As Princeton senior Daniel Petticord was conceptualizing his thesis on animal movement in the African savanna, he could have chosen to study elephants, zebras, giraffes, impalas or any of the iconic animals that inhabit central Kenya. He chose the ubiquitous leopard tortoise. “I’ve always been a ‘dig around in the dirt and look for reptiles’

Highest number of leatherback sea turtle nests seen in Andaman Islands, India since 2010 Over 300 leatherback nests found in the nesting beaches of Little Andaman, where an average of about 150 nests are usually found every year. He added, “This is the highest number of nests recorded for turtles since the initiation of our monitoring camp in 2010. Existing literature on sea turtle monitoring