World Turtle News

Former Administrator Rears Tortoises for a Living in Kitui County, Kenya Meet the man rearing over a thousand tortoises in Kitui County, Kenya. 71-year-old Peter Maundu isn’t like most other members of his community, as he has chosen to rear a variety of tortoise species on his five-acre farm in Voo village in Kitui East Constituency. Maundu said: “Having realized that severe climatic conditions and […]

Forest Department Releases 500 Olive Ridley Hatchlings into Sea 500 olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) hatchlings have been released by wildlife officials at Elliot’s beach, India. This is the ninth batch of hatchlings to be released from the government turtle hatchery, 22,350 hatchlings have been released to date! Hatcheries have been setup in three locations: Besant Nagar, Kalpakkam and Publicat. These hatcheries have been setup in

Children learn about rare diamondback terrapins As the nesting season for turtles approaches, the New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance staff came to the Wareham Free Library on Saturday to teach kids and adults about diamondback terrapins, a threatened species that lives in the marshes and coastal waters of Wareham. The diamondback terrapin, often simply called a terrapin, is a species of turtle native to the

Galapagos tortoise migration routes may be changing due to climate change Bastille-Rousseau says the team is surprised by the mismatch, stating “tortoise timing of migration fluctuated a lot among years, often by over two months. This indicates that migration for tortoises may not just be about foraging opportunities. For example, female tortoises have to make decisions related to nesting, and we still have a lot

Conservationists Steadfast In Preventing Extinction of the Giant Yangtze Soft Shell Turtle Steadfast efforts continue to prevent the extinction of the Giant Yangtze Soft Shell Turtle (Rafetus swinhoei), even with the news that the last known female of the species died on Saturday, April 13, 2019. The 90-year-old plus female turtle died during recovery from anesthesia after an artificial insemination procedure in Suzhou, China. The

India and Pakistan come together to rescue Geochelone elegans Keeping aside their political differences, India and Pakistan have joined hands to save the rare Indian Star Tortoise (Geochelone elegans), which is widely trafficked for use as exotic pets— because of the pattern of light radiating lines on their shells— in international market. The two neighbouring countries at the upcoming 18th Conference of the Parties of

Endangered speckled softshell turtle dies after artificial insemination An endangered female speckled softshell turtle aged in its 90s died on Saturday after being artificially inseminated at a zoo in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. The turtle was given a checkup and found to be in good health before what was the fifth attempt at artificial insemination by international experts and zoo staff. The procedure appeared to go

FGCU professor heads groundbreaking tortoise research at Delnor-Wiggins Jacob Wozny, who seems to possess a natural instinct for discovering creatures hidden in the wild, spots a large male gopher tortoise obscured by brush in the dunes of Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park. The Florida Gulf Coast University senior ambles through shrubs, picks up the tortoise, and carries it over to his professor, Dr. Phillip Allman, and

Meet The Man Helping Save Endangered Turtles In The Maldives Martin Stelfox, biologist and founder of The Olive Ridley Project, made a discovery in the Maldives that set him on a path to rescue some of the most endangered turtles in the world. After spending over 15 years working on marine conservation projects all over the globe, in 2012 biologist Martin Stelfox landed himself a