World Turtle News

Turtle-sniffing dogs heading to Bur Oak Land Trust project The concern is for the ornate box turtle, Iowa’s only native terrestrial turtle which lives on sandy prairies and open forest land. This is in sharp contrast to the river and wetland-loving snapping turtle and northern painted turtle — and its 10 other Iowa cousin-species. These box turtles are listed as “threatened” in Iowa, and Bur […]

Monster ghost net found in North Male in the Maldives The North-East monsoon season in Maldives is peak season for ghost nets drifting into to Maldives, and along with them, entangled marine life. The team at One & Only Reethi Rah recently removed a monster ghost net in North Male Atoll, estimated to weigh between 200 and 300 kg. The boat crew at One &

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Funds to Preserve 6,300 Acres in South Padre Island Funds from companies responsible for the largest ocean oil spill in history will be used to preserve sensitive wildlife habitat in South Padre Island, including for endangered sea turtles. Starting this month, international environmental nonprofit The Nature Conservancy will close on two deals in 2019 to acquire a total of nearly 6,300

In Canada, beavers and Blanding’s turtles make an interesting pair Beavers build dams, which create wetlands, to increase their food resource area and protect themselves from predators. In addition to regulating, filtering and purifying runoff water, these wetlands are also useful for other species; they promote the nesting and feeding of waterfowl, and also benefit several types of fish, amphibians, reptiles and even some mammals.

Tracking the desert tortoise with Dave Hansen The state reptile of California and “poster child” for our Mojave Desert is the tortoise. The desert tortoise, weighing in at about 8 to 15 pounds, grows slowly and may live 50 to 80 years. It has roamed our landscape for many thousands of years. Sadly, today the tortoise is a threatened species protected by federal law. In

1,529 exotic turtles and tortoises found at Philippines airport duct taped Over 1,500 exotic turtles and tortoises that were being smuggled into the Philippines’ main airport were intercepted by authorities on Sunday, Philippine customs said. The 1,529 animals, all of which were found to be alive after four abandoned suitcases containing the animals were discovered, were believed to be worth around $86,000 (4.5 million pesos),

Couple brought together, kept apart by their love for turtles Terrapins brought Dr Chen Pelf Nyok, well known among villagers in Kampung Pasir Gajah as “Mek Tuntung”, and her husband Dylan Wang whom locals call “Along Dolloh”, together, and their love for the reptiles led them to tie the knot early last year. But their love for the turtles also kept them apart for months

World’s most heavily trafficked turtle plays vital role in Indonesia environment, economy The Southeast Asian box turtle is the most heavily trafficked turtle in the world – captured and sold to China for food and medicine and for the pet trade in the United States, Japan and Europe. But little was known about its ecology until a University of Rhode Island herpetologist spent six months

Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) seizes 3,300 pig-nosed turtles (Carettochelys insculpta) from smugglers The carettochelys insculpta, commonly known as the pig-nosed turtle, is listed as Vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. The freshwater reptile is restricted to the Northern Territories of Australia and the southern lowlands of New Guinea. Despite the legal protection, the turtles are in high demand