Turtle Conservancy News and Program Updates
Education is the backbone of conservation, and we want to highlight one school that has incorporated lifesaving turtle conservation into their curriculum. Mount Olive High School, a public school in Morris County, New Jersey, goes beyond classroom teachings to engage students in hands-on work with animals in their greenhouse. The School opened their doors to turtles that United States Fish and Wildlife (USFW) confiscated from the global illegal wildlife trade…
As we go to the press with The Tortoise, our 11th issue of our annual magazine, an important report came out in the New York Times on the plight of reptiles titled, "From Tiny Geckos to King Cobras, 20% of Reptiles Face Extinction Risk."
The Okavango River Basin is in danger. Permits have been granted to a Canadian fossil fuel company, ReconAfrica, which plans to build new oil and gas fields in the Okavango wilderness region of Namibia and Botswana. The license permits drilling and potentially fracking over a 13,200-square-mile area that includes land adjacent to protected areas in Namibia’s Kavango regions and the Okavango Delta (the world's largest inland delta) in Botswana...
In December of 2019 we shared the news of a turtle trafficking network that had been uncovered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Postal Service. The two year long investigation documented a plan to illegally export over 769 native North American turtles (of many protected species) to China for the international pet trade. The investigation led to the arrest of a Chinese national and halted this particular operation. Nearly three years after his arrest, the man who pleaded guilty to purchasing and planning to export these turtles was finally sentenced earlier this month…
The United States has a wildlife trafficking crisis closer to home than most people realize: native turtles are disappearing from lands and waters and ending up in the hands of poachers across the country.
For those who are witnessing this crisis first hand—conservation professionals, biologists, and wildlife law enforcement officials—there is a consensus that immediate action is needed to prevent the removal of native turtles from the wild before irreversible damage is done to both rare and more common species, from Bog Turtles to Box Turtles. The U.S. is a global biological hotspot for turtles, home to 57 species, including some that only live here.
Dear Supporters,
In these challenging times, the Turtle Conservancy is still pursuing our mission and vision, thanks in part to all of your past support. We continue to care for the rescued animals at our conservation center in Ojai and manage our international wildlife preserves.
As you may know, I recently produced and directed the Tiger King series on Netflix, a personal journey that started with the investigation of the wildlife trade. It evolved into an exposé, documenting unsavory aspects of the tiger industry and roadside zoos in America. I witnessed the plight of not only captive tigers, but also that of wild animals around the world. Making the series reaffirmed my conviction that protecting wildlife along with their ecosystems is one of humanity's top priorities.
As COVID-19 demonstrates, our future is inextricably linked with nature. The more stressed ecological systems become, the more humans become the targets of emerging disease, unbuffered by the vast array of species in a healthy ecosystem. It's time to end the exploitation of nature that increases our exposure to pathogens jumping from animals to humans, threatening our survival.
Many years ago I founded the Turtle Conservancy to help protect wild land and save one of the most endangered groups of animals on the planet, turtles and tortoises. I remain a fervent believer in our motto: "Save Turtles, Save the Planet." We have already lost 50% of all life on Earth in the past 40 years. To help reach our goals, my fellow Tiger King filmmakers and I pledge $2 million to stop wildlife trade and protect critical habitat. Of course this is just a start, we will need much more funding to realize this vision. Please join me on this special Giving Tuesday to bolster our support. Your tax-deductible donation to the Turtle Conservancy will support habitat protection and our partners, including Endthetrade.com.
We are currently pursuing additional land purchases to expand our on-the-ground field conservation programs in South Africa and Mexico. This will protect several endangered turtle and tortoise species and all biodiversity they coexist with (including several wild cat species). We continue to fight against the wildlife trade by rescuing confiscated animals at our conservation center and support our overseas partners.
In these surreal times, I hope we recognize our impact on nature and our role within it. I send my wishes that you and your family stay healthy during this trying time.
Warmly,
Eric Goode
The global trade in wild animals has produced the conditions for disastrous and deadly pandemics, including COVID-19. To prevent the next pandemic, the Coalition to End the Trade is calling for the permanent end to the commercial trade and sale in markets of terrestrial animals (particularly birds and mammals), especially for consumption. Global Wildlife Conservation, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and WildAid are launching this coalition to implement key strategies that seek to end this trade…
Among the torrent of news concerning the COVID-19 pandemic, we are gradually learning the origin story of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Scientists cannot say with certainty where and how SARS-CoV-2 was initially transmitted to humans, but we do know that the first cases were recorded from people visiting a “wet market” (seafood markets that also sell wild and farmed animals for food) in Wuhan, China and that the virus is similar to a coronavirus found in bats. Viruses like these are known to jump from bats to humans, often by an intermediary species.
The TC is proud to announce our participation as a founding member of the American Turtles SAFE program by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. This exciting new program will strengthen the fight to save our native turtles through a collaborative partnership between dozens of zoos, aquariums, universities, government agencies, and conservation non-profits…
Another illegal smuggling operation has been thwarted by U.S. wildlife officials. Last month, a man pleaded guilty to coordinating the trafficking of North American turtles to China. He was arrested in February after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (along with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service) documented him and an accomplice purchasing over 300 wild turtles from dealers around the U.S. over a 13-month period…
An enthusiastic team of volunteers got together at our rescue center in New Jersey last weekend to help us search for, count, and medically assess turtles rescued from the illegal pet trade before they enter hibernation with the onset of the cold season. The work ahead of this inventory exercise seemed monumental in the face of unseasonable 90° weather.
The majority of the animals living at the center come from confiscations from smugglers trying to export native U.S. species of turtles, including Wood Turtles (Glyptemys insculpta), Box Turtles (Terrapene spp.) and Spotted Turtles (Clemmys guttata). The center is also home to animals confiscated from illegal pet ownership.Maurice Rodrigues, one of the founders of the Turtle Conservancy and an active conservationist, runs the center which provides a caring home for all these confiscated animals…
In our July 2018 blog, we highlighted potential implications to numerous threatened and endangered species in connection with proposed changes to the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) by the current U.S. Presidential Administration. These proposed changes came into effect on August 19, 2019 in the name of "increasing transparency and effectiveness" and were touted by some members of the Department of the Interior as bringing the ESA into the 21st century with a more "effective, consistent and clear interpretation." Superficially, these changes may appear to improve methods for conservation and protection of wildlife in the United States, however in practice, they will substantially erode protections for our nation’s threatened and endangered species.
Photo by Nathanael Stanek
The Bog Turtle (Glyptemys muhlenbergii) is a small species of turtle native to the Eastern United States. It is considered to be one of the smallest turtle species on Earth, rarely weighing more than 110 grams as a full-grown adult. Despite their name, they live in a very unique habitat known as a fen—not a bog as it turns out—a wetland fed by mineral-rich surface or groundwater and characterized by an assembly of grasses, sedges, and mosses. They have drab, brown shells (making for great camouflage among the peat-rich mud) occasionally with subtle orange radiating patterns on the scutes, and a black or brown underside with intermittent yellow-to-orange markings. The skin bears similar coloration but the head is distinguishable by two bright yellow-orange spots on each side of their head.
In the spring, they emerge from their muddy tunnels among the roots to forage, bask, and mate throughout the fen’s thick tussocks of sedges/grasses and clumps sphagnum moss. Perhaps the most unique behavior is their choice of nesting site. Unlike other turtles, females do not lay eggs in a sandy or soil substrate, but rather choose to build nests in clumps of vegetation around June/July. Therefore, the species is highly dependent on this specific assembly of vegetation. Typically, a female bog turtle’s clutch size will range from one to five eggs. From September to April, the turtles usually hibernate in small groups deep under the mud and cave-like structures created by the plants. Bog turtles are omnivorous, with a diet consisting of aquatic plants, small berries, and fruits, as well as invertebrates such as slugs, snails, worms, and small insects. The bog turtle ranges along the Appalachians in disjunct populations from North Georgia up to Lake Ontario in New York State.
Unfortunately, because of their unique characteristics, bog turtles are sought out in the illegal pet trade. An adult bog turtle is worth a few thousand dollars on the black market. Because of habitat loss and poaching for the pet trade, they are considered Critically Endangered by the IUCN. Due to human activities, their population size has decreased by at least 50% in the past 30 years. In fact, the primary threat to the bog turtle is habitat loss and destruction. The fen is a very sensitive ecosystem threatened by habitat conversion/oss due to human development involving the draining and filling of wetlands. Human encroachment also leads to the spread of invasive plants and the subsidization generalist predators like raccoons that prey upon the turtles. When females are laying just a few eggs per year, factors like these can quickly decimate populations. On a positive note, the bog turtle is strictly protected under the United States Federal Endangered Species Act and has been considered as threatened by many states, including New Jersey, Connecticut and New York, since 1997.
Many studies have been performed to find the best conservation strategies for bog turtles. Radio telemetry has been used to follow released animals that were bred in captivity and to further collect data on the bog turtle’s natural history and survival following release. This technique (known as head-starting) along with habitat restoration methods have been found to be the best way to pursue the conservation efforts for this threatened little turtle.
The Sulawesi Forest Turtle (Leucocephalon yuwonoi) is a recently described species of turtle endemic to the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. The name Leucocephalon refers to the white head coloration in males of the species, while yuwonoi refers to the animal collector Franck Yuwono, who was the first to obtain specimens of this turtle…
