World Turtle News

Maldives Illegal Wildlife Trade The Maldives archipelago has fast become one of the world’s best tourist destinations in the world. Underlying this famed tourism industry, the country is dealing with some serious environmental pressures that threaten the country’s unique natural environment. Something typically brushed under the carpet is the illegal wildlife trade at tourist shops across the capital, Malé, which sells some of the world’s […]

Students at Murray State University, KY build GPS trackers for box turtles The project’s overall goal is to demonstrate the value of GPS technology. They compared GPS tracking to traditional telemetry. Also the project provided students with hands-on experience in marking and tracking turtles. “This is a low-cost and safe way for these students to gather GPS data,” Darracq said. “I’m proud of the work

Suspects held over trade in rare tortoises Eight people suspected of illegally buying and selling radiated tortoises, an endangered species from Madagascar, have been caught, Shanghai police said on Monday. Police in Xuhui District said they began an investigation in December last year after a report that radiated tortoises were being sold online at 4,000 yuan (US$566) to 10,000 yuan, police said. Police found that

FWC officers bust largest turtle trafficking ring seen in FL, free hundreds of reptiles (read the official FWC press release here) The arrests were more than two years in the making, following a February 2018 tip. In the following months, surveillance and investigations revealed a well-organized ring was illegally catching turtles on both private and public land to sell to large-scale distributors overseas. In one

Sea Life Minnesota Aquarium and University of Minnesota team up to create custom solution for sea turtle “’I really never expected to work on anything like this, but this project, it’s just been so incredibly fulfilling to perform this work, to see it out in the field. To see it work, nothing beats that,’ says Skahen. … “Knott says that Sea Life’s partnership with Minnesota

70,000 baby turtles safely reach the Mediterranean from Turkey’s shores A massive 70,000 hatchling sea turtles have made their way into the Mediterranean Sea this year, leaving Turkey’s coast. The most common species of marine turtle in the Med is the loggerhead (Caretta caretta). Eggs were mostly laid this year at beaches in the Belek district of Antalya province, said Ali Fuat Canbolat, the head

Royal Caribbean, WWF-Australia introduce new DNA test to identify genetically distinct populations of hawksbill sea turtles and protect them Hawksbill turtles from different regions, or even some countries, are genetically distinct, and their DNA signatures can be used to identify different nesting areas. The new test will allow scientists and marine conservationists to identify which where tortoiseshell products have come from and pinpoint hawksbill turtle

MME releases 5,706 Hawksbill baby turtles into sea A major state project in Qatar to protect the environment and to ensure high levels of biodiversity has seen the Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME) release 5,706 critically endangered hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) being released into the ocean. The sea turtles were released during Qatar’s 2019 hatching season. Ali Saleh Al Marri, The head of wildlife