tortoise news

Short Film Documents Efforts to Save Sea Turtle Habitat in South Carolina “The film introduces Sea Turtle Specialist, Leah Schwartzentruber, and Park Ranger, John Greider – members of the team leading Edisto Beach State Park’s sea turtle conservation program. Sea turtles are one of Earth’s oldest creatures and among the most threatened due to a number of factors, including loss of habitat. The South Carolina […]

Expansion on tap for Loggerhead Marinelife Center Groundbreaking for the $14 million expansion that will more than double the size of the Loggerhead Marinelife Center is planned for the end of this year. Bigger hospital and research facilities, more classrooms, an auditorium, a Discovery Zone interactive exhibit hall and an amphitheater with a wall-to-ceiling ocean reef tank are planned. There will be an outdoor cafe

Plight of Chinese turtles shows lax protection in China’s nature reserves China’s nature reserves are woefully inadequate at protecting biodiversity, a 12-year study of turtle poaching in dozens of conservation areas has found. The research results, published 6 March in Current Biology, focus on turtles but draw larger conclusions about the state of wildlife conservation in China. The authors note that China has 2700 nature

Long Island’s Malaclemys terrapin Die-Off Mistery Solved Back in April 2015 hundreds of Malaclemys terrapin were found dead in Long Island. The species already suffered from a 60% declined in recent years. It took several months of effort and a strong collaboration between the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) biologists and a local wildlife rehabilitator, Cornell’s Wildlife Health Program (WHP) to determine

Maharashtra in India to study Lepidochelys olivacea migratory route In a first for Maharashtra and the west coast, Olive Ridley turtles at various beaches at Ratnagiri will be tagged to understand their migratory pattern. Maharashtra will be the second state in India, after Odisha, to understand their breeding pattern and movement. In a joint effort by state forest department and mangrove cell, the tagging process

Missile Launches Cause Concern Over Lepidochelys olivacea Nesting in India An alarming turn of events on Abdul Kalam Island has raised great concern for the nesting Lepidochelys olivacea near Gahiramatha beach. Recently the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) fired a supersonic endo-atmospheric Advanced Area Defence (AAD) interceptor missile from the island which raised the alarm for scientists. They worry that the sea turtles will

Turtle Survival Alliance Announces Groundbreaking Project in Vital Biodiversity Hotspot The Turtle Survival Alliance recently announced their newest conservation project, which will focus on the chelonians of Columbia. Columbia is a highly diverse biodiversity hotspot, featuring 27 chelonian taxa and nine families. They are partnering with the Wildlife Conservation Society to develop an effective strategy to conserve the native and critically endangered species which reside

Rare, lethargic Platysternon megacephalum being trained to regain its wild side Since arriving at the World Freshwater Aquarium Aquatotto Gifu in June 2015, the turtle has appeared devoid of all drive, mainly staying idle in the corner of its tank. Yuka Kondo, a 26-year-old animal trainer at Aquatotto Gifu, is currently helping the lethargic big-headed turtle reclaim its wild side. Click the link to find

Sea Turtle X-rays Present a Solemn Reminder to Protect Our Fragile Ecosystems Could a turtle really become a gold mine? This unfortunate sea turtle was the victim of such a phenomenon. “Piggy Bank” was discovered by a group of locals and was transported to the Royal Thai Navy Sea Turtle Conservation Center in Chonburi province, where veterinarians performed x-rays to determine the cause of an