Michaela Wiersema

Once Thought Extinct Species Recovered Thanks to Bullsbrook Resident Archie Gates might not have thought much of it at the time, but when he picked up a small turtle off the road, he single-handedly rediscovered a species once thought to be extinct. Mr. Gates handed the turtle over to his cousin, Robert Boyd, who was intrigued and presented it to the local Naturalist club for

University Program Implementing Important Head-starting Program for Native Turtle Species Biology students at Worcester State University have the opportunity to study one of their state’s most endangered turtle species, Pseudemys rubriventris. This project is a head-starting program headed by the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife which has been involved with the conservation of this species for 33 years. After being raised at the head-starting

Gopherus flavomarginatus Assurance Colony Brings Hope for a Nearly Extinct Species The world’s first Gopherus flavomarginatus head-starting program recently took off, as the initial group of hatchlings was released into their native habitat as a collaborative project between the Turtle Conservancy and Turner Endangered Species Fund (TESF). Assisted by Dr. Paul Gibbons from the Turtle Conservancy, the tortoises were radio-tagged before being sent on their

Massive Gopherus agassizii Relocation Project Finally Successfully Accomplished The most extensive Gopherus agassizii relocation project performed by the US Marine Corps was finally completed last month. Taking two weeks to complete, over 1100 tortoises were loaded into helicopters and transported to their new location. After each tortoise was captured, it was given a thorough health check before being making the flight. Biologists express concern over

Ontario Conservation Program Makes Great Leaps Towards Public Education One organization located in Ontario dedicates 100% of it’s efforts to the conservation of it’s native chelonians, in particular Chelydra serpentina . The Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre (OTCC) has spent 15 years in the race to stop their extinction. In addition to their extensive educational programs, they also implement research projects and rehabilitate injured turtles at

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

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,