2018 AZA Conference

2018 AZA Conference

As the world’s only AZA certified turtle and tortoise facility, we participated in the AZA conference again this year. Many zoos and aquariums stopped by our booth to learn about how we’ve protected over 50,000 acres of wild land for turtles and tortoises…

Species Highlight

Species Highlight

The Okinawa Leaf Turtle is a cryptic species, with a highly colorful red to yellow pattern. This turtle has been highly desired by collectors, but at the same time scientist didn’t know a lot about this animal…

Welcome to the Team!

Welcome to the Team!

Let's all give a warm welcome to the newest member of the Turtle Conservancy Team, Thomas Owens! Tommy has come to us after 17 years at the San Diego Zoo, and is now the TC's curator and director of regional field programs. He will be leading our effort to conserve the Southern Western Pond Turtle!

Saving the Pacific Leatherback

Saving the Pacific Leatherback

Please support our efforts in conjunction with Paso Pacifico in the construction of two new hatcheries in Nicaragua to protect nests from poachers and predators. Help us reach our goal of $8,000 by October 1st!

Conservation Center Updates

We have been incredibly busy this past month here at the Turtle Conservancy's Conservation Center. Two interns, Simon Rouot (L) and Noah Rodrigues (R), joined the TC Team, our incubators seemed to have revolving doors with new turtles hatching almost everyday, and major renovations and redesign of our large greenhouse is underway...

Congratulations Russell Mittermeier!

Congratulations Russell Mittermeier!

This year the 13th annual Behler Turtle Conservation Award celebrates and honors Russell A. Mittermeier for his half-century of dedication to science and conservation of turtles and primates, as well as being a world-leading global conservationist of the highest caliber...

Join us at the 2018 WCN Expo

Wildlife Conservation Network (WCN) Logo

Join us in San Francisco on Saturday, October 13th at the Wildlife Conservation Network Expo. The Expo is full of interesting, inspirational presentations by conservationists from around the world. Be sure to stop by the Turtle Conservancy booth to learn more about our programs... View the full Expo schedule by clicking here, including information about each speaker.

The Russians Are Here!

The Russians Are Here!

Along with interfering in American elections, the Russians have now established themselves at the Turtle Conservancy–Russian tortoises, that is. Ten of the tortoises arrived over this summer as homeless rescues, abandoned when their owners tired of them. Our Russians are settling in nicely; they are completely uninterested in computers, so we're not concerned about their hacking into our systems...

Issue 7

The 7th issue of The Tortoise is here! 148 pages of full-color exploration of how turtles and tortoises influence people, politics and the arts. The feature articles span the globe, from Robert Kennedy Jr’s animal filled life to an Amazonian eco-travel expedition in Peru to the turtle collectors of Europe. This issue of The Tortoise Magazine will be sure to captivate conservationists, art enthusiasts, and world travelers alike.

Get your issue today, by purchasing any tier TC Membership on our website or by purchasing directly from our store. If you are a current member you will be receiving your copy of Issue 7 in the coming weeks.

Killing the Endangered Species Act

Killing the Endangered Species Act

As if turtles and tortoises don't already have enough to worry about--predators and poachers and climate change--now they're about to be dealt a serious blow by Congress and the Trump Administration in the form of a watered-down Endangered Species Act.

Bolson Tortoise Preserve Update

Bolson Tortoise Preserve Update

In mid-June, a team of researchers from TC and HABIO, TC’s Mexican sister organization, spent nearly a week in Mexico’s Bolson de Mapimí to survey the Critically Endangered Bolson Tortoise. In 2016, HABIO and TC purchased the 43,000-acre San Ignacio Ranch at the heart of Mexico’s Bolson de Mapimí desert plateau; at the time the ranch was understood to be inhabited by a good population of tortoises, but no systematic population survey has ever been carried out…

Congratulations Sabin Prize Winners!

Congratulations Sabin Prize Winners!

Congratulations to our friends and colleagues Gamaliel Castañeda Gaytán and Rosalinda Palomo-Ramos on being this year’s winners of the Sabin Family Prize in turtle conservation! Read more about their amazing work and what motivates them to save turtles and tortoises in Mexico...