Female Gopherus agassizii May be Insuring Species Survival at the Cost of Their Lives Joshua Tree National Park is a haven for numerous Gopherus agassizii, which continue to successfully reproduce year after year, despite a progressively severe drought. Recently a concerning number of deceased females have been discovered within the park, and biologists are working to determine the cause of this unusual die-off. Jeffey Lovich, […]

Toxic Element Discovered in Chelydra serpentina Enables Biologists to Develop New Strategies Who would have thought that a toenail would reveal such important information about the ecosystem? A New York lake is the focus of this intriguing study. After collecting toenail samples from Chelydra serpentina in Onondaga Lake, scientists discovered that the turtles contained surprisingly high levels of mercury, sixteen times more concentrated than another

Chelus fimbriata receives innovative treatment A strange-looking freshwater turtle, Betty, a mata mata turtle at Riverbanks Zoo, is native to South America. Her brownish-black shell resembles bark, her head bears semblance to fallen leaves, and her neck looks a bit like a long leaf. Betty holds a unique distinction: she is one of only a few turtles in the United States to receive radiation treatment

Temple Implementing Measures to Provide a More Suitable Environment for Resident Turtles A Thailand temple is making efforts to improve the captive environment and husbandry of their resident turtles. After a visit from officials, spurred by social media posts, the temple stated that they would build a second pond to reduce overcrowding in the current setup. The turtles are an important aspect of Asian culture,

Sea Turtles Being ‘Temporarily Relocated’ In “anticipation of intense boating activity in the Great Sound,” the America’s Cup Bermuda is “coordinating a temporary sea turtle relocation project,” in which “Sea turtles will be netted based on methods used successfully for turtle tagging operations and temporarily relocated inside a purpose-built ocean enclosure near the Bermuda Aquarium Museum and Zoo [BAMZ] in Flatts. The area was chosen

Unconventional Treatment Proves Successful for an Otherwise Permanently Disabled Gopherus polyphemus Who would have thought that a popular treatment for humans would have such a dramatic effect on a tortoise. This Gopherus polyphemus had a fortunate fate. After being hit by a car, her shell was left cracked and back limbs nearly paralyzed. She was discovered after the accident and transported to the South Florida