Rodney Lewis

Desert Tortoises Gone Captive In 1922, the biologist Edmund Carroll Jaeger, a careful chronicler of the life of the Mojave Desert, described desert tortoises as �excellent pets.� They have a �certain nobility of form,� he observed in Denizens of the Desert. �Nature has withheld from them the gift of expression,� Jaeger wrote, �but they may speak to us just the same, teaching us simplicity, humility […]

Bristol Zoo hatches a pair of Cuora bourreti Two of the rarest breed of turtle on the planet have been born at a Bristol zoo. The duo of tiny Bourret’s Vietnamese box turtles hatched at Bristol Zoo Gardens after 12 weeks in an incubator with the temperature set at 26C. The hatchlings are currently the size of a small matchbox but could live to be

Israel is rehabbing its softshell turtle population One evening in May, the Kishon River Authority received an urgent call about a softshell turtle apparently hit by a vehicle near the Haifa oil refineries. The 43-mile-long Kishon River empties into Haifa Bay. After she receives a clean bill of health, she will join hundreds of other softshell turtles that have either found their way to the

IUCN and Anantara collaborate to protect marine turtles in Sri Lanka At a time where increasing pressure is being placed on the environment, the private sector is realising the importance of conserving natural habitats and biodiversity in order to protect the viability of their businesses. In Sri Lanka, as a symbol of their pledge to environmental responsibility, Anantara Resorts, Hotels and Spas has collaborated with

Gopherus agassizii threatened by continuing drought Five years of drought in California have had devastating effects on its wildlife. One reptile that’s been deeply affected is the California Desert Tortoise. It’s struggling not only with dehydration, but also some unconventional predators. California’s deserts have seen the worst drought for more than a thousand years, and if current trends continue scientists say 90 percent of some

Turtles help UT researchers learn more about the effects of harmful algae The health of Lake Erie is an issue that affects millions of people. Algal blooms are one of the biggest concerns. There’s been a lot of research done through the years on the effects of toxic algae on people. There hasn’t been a lot done on wildlife, especially amphibians and reptiles like turtles.

China’s rich collectors target U.S. tortoise and turtle populations Federal wildlife inspectors were randomly checking packages headed for China a month ago at a downtown Los Angeles post office when they were alarmed to find 170 turtles hidden in men’s socks in a cardboard box with no return address. “This case signals a new and distressing trend: poachers in the U.S. willing to swap our

Chemical cocktail found in Barrier Reef turtles Human medicines and household substances have been discovered in the blood of green turtles in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, researchers said Friday, highlighting the impact of man-made matter on marine life. “Humans are putting a lot of chemicals into the environment and we don’t always know what they are and what effect they are having,” said Amy Heffernan