Matt Knight

Salinas, CA has new sea turtle art, stronger community Lee Abellana saw a need for unity in the community, and he stepped up. Now, an amazing mural adorns the wall of La Paz Park, highlighting the connection between the city’s residents and their neighboring ocean life. The project was organized by Joseph Frausto, executive director of the Salinas Urban Arts Project, who saw the chance […]

GA increases takes of endangered species after National Marine Fisheries Service says dredging kills but not enough In a potentially controversial move, NMFS stated that while species such as the green sea turtle, loggerhead turtle, sturgeon, and right whale are endangered and at risk due to a dredging project in Savannah, due to supposedly increased populations an increased number of turtles and other species can

Turtles in Space: Kuang-Chi Group successfully tests commercial “manned” capsule No, it’s not a ripoff of the Muppets- a yellow-headed temple turtle (Heosemys annandalii) just returned from a trip 13 miles above the ground. Kuang-Chi Group, based in China, has plans to provide commercial near-space visits for humans, and this little turtle just proved that their efforts have been worthwhile. The turtle rode in the

Dr. Peter Pritchard the subject of Orlando Science Center’s Inspiring Innovation Gala It makes perfect sense that Dr. Pritchard would be honored as a hometown hero in Orlando, just as it makes perfect sense that there would be Galapagos tortoises and other chelonians roaming the gala held in his honor. The event focused on his many achievements in the world of conservation that make him

New research from Monash University suggests that vacuum bags help protect sea turtle eggs during transport Sea turtles are notoriously difficult to protect since they spend most of their lives in the ocean, with only females returning to land when nesting. So when Monash University scientists in Australia noticed that vacuum bags seem to reduce mortality rates by preventing oxygen from reaching the eggs inside,

Tigabu Youth Club in Malaysia organizes first festival for marine turtles at Tun Mustapha Park, connects community Tigabu Island’s Youth Club organized a festival at Tun Mustapha Park (TMP) this month which celebrated turtle conservation, helping bring together an entire community that has a love for its marine inhabitants. The festival focused on conservation work by the Tigabu-Tambulian-Kukuban Island Complex which has helped raise awareness

New study: how the almost extinct Burmese star tortoise has gone from 175 to 14,000 in Myanmar Starting at a point where it took 1,000 man-hours to find one Geochelone elegans, times are truly changing for the highly sought-after reptile. In 2004, the Nature and Wildlife Conservation Division (NWCD) of the Myanmar Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Forestry, in collaboration with the Wildlife Conservation Society

Would-be thieves prevented from stealing ATVs from nonprofit Florida Leatherbacks As if it’s not difficult enough to run a nonprofit, two ATVs were almost stolen in Palm Beach after the culprit(s) failed to hot-wire one of them, attempting to hide them nearby and come back later. After they sent out a message on social media, a neighbor nearby then spotted the vehicles and was able

Trend toward sea turtle recovery around the globe (Read the full paper in Science Advances here) As a migratory species, sea turtles aren’t the easiest animals to protect. However, thanks to conservation efforts over the last 70 years, the effects of dangers such as over-exploitation and habitat loss appear to have been reduced significantly, allowing for a global bouncing back of sea turtle species. Dr.