1,500 live turtles found crammed into suitcases

Seized at Indonesia's Mopah Airport

February 2012: Close to 1,500 live pig-nosed turtles have been seized at an airport in Indonesia.

The 1,495 turtles were concealed inside two suitcases and discovered at Mopah Airport en route to Jakarta, the nation's capital and a major hub for illicit wildlife trade.

Valued as pets, and possibly consumed as meat in some countries, pig-nosed turtles are smuggled out of Indonesia by the thousands.

Kept as pets, eaten, or used in traditional medicineSources allege that shipments such as this one are common, with dealers in Jakarta buying the turtles from hunters and agents in Papua, then selling them on to dealers and retailers abroad. Many are destined for the pet markets of East Asia, to places such as Hong Kong, where demand for this species is rising. The turtles are often concealed in shipments of tropical aquarium fish.

There are also indications that many of the turtles are bound for the kitchen table, or to be used in traditional medicines.

Although pig-nosed turtles are totally protected in Indonesia, making collection for export illegal, the trade large scale persists.

Illegal reptile trade is rife in IndonesiaClose to 3,500 pig-nosed turtles were seized in February 2010 in Jakarta, while in October last year, more than 600 seized in Hong Kong were returned to Indonesia for reintroduction to the wild. Most, however, once removed from their native habitat, never make it back.

‘The authorities involved in intercepting this shipment are to be congratulated,' said Chris Shepherd, deputy regional director of TRAFFIC Southeast Asia.

‘However, the fact that dealers continue to smuggle shipments of this size indicates a serious problem in Indonesia, where illegal reptile trade is rife.'

The Pig-nosed turtle is threatened by habitat degradation and by illegal and unsustainable harvest for local consumption and international trade. It is listed as Vulnerable to extinction in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Many protected animals are openly for saleObservations by TRAFFIC in December 2011 of three wildlife markets and a reptile expo in Indonesia's capital, Jakarta, found a host of protected and endangered turtles and tortoises openly for sale, plus other protected species of reptiles, mammals and birds.

Among them were 19 green turtles and eight Malaysian giant turtles, both listed as Endangered by IUCN and Totally Protected in Indonesia.

A host of non-native species were also seen, including a single ploughshare tortoise and ten radiated tortoises, both critically endangered species endemic to Madagascar.

‘Illegal and unsustainable trade in turtles and other reptiles in Indonesia is a serious threat to the conservation of many species. Indonesia's enforcement agencies must take firm action against traders in Indonesia flouting the law,' said Shepherd.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/turtle-trade2012.html

Almost 1,500 turtles "crammed like sardines" into suitcases (Pig-nosed or Fly-River turtles) via Herp Digest

TRAFFIC in Enforcement, Herpetological, Smuggling in Asia
Chris R. Shepherd / TRAFFIC Southeast Asia Jakarta, Indonesia, 26 January, 2012

Close to 1,500 live Pig-nosed Turtles were seized yesterday in Mopah Airport, Merauke, in Papua Province, Indonesia. The 1,495 turtles were concealed inside two suitcases en route to Jakarta, the nation's capital and a major hub for illicit wildlife trade.

Valued as pets, and possibly consumed as meat in some countries, Pig-nosed Turtles are smuggled out of Indonesia by the thousands. Sources allege that shipments such as this one are common, with dealers in Jakarta buying the turtles from hunters and agents in Papua, then selling them on to dealers and retailers abroad.

Many are destined for the pet markets of East Asia, to places such as Hong Kong, where demand for this species is rising. The turtles are often concealed in shipments of tropical aquarium fish. There are also indications that many of the turtles are bound for the kitchen table, or to be used in traditional medicines.

Pig-nosed Turtles Carettochelys insculpta are totally protected in Indonesia, making collection for export illegal. Yet the trade large scale persists. Close to 3,500 Pig-nosed Turtles were seized in February 2010 in Jakarta, while in October last year, more than 600 seized in Hong Kong were returned to Indonesia for reintroduction to the wild. Most, however, once removed from their native habitat, never make it back. The authorities involved in intercepting this shipment are to be congratulated" said Chris R. Shepherd, Deputy Regional Director of TRAFFIC Southeast Asia. “However, the fact that dealers continue to smuggle shipments of this size indicates a serious problem in Indonesia, where illegal reptile trade is rife."

Pig-nosed Turtles are listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which requires permits for all international trade and for the animals to have been obtained in accordance with national legislation. The Pig-nosed Turtle is threatened by habitat degradation and by illegal and unsustainable harvest for local consumption and international trade. It is listed as Vulnerable to extinction in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Jakarta-renowned illegal wildlife trade hub observations by TRAFFIC in December 2011 of three wildlife markets and a reptile expo in Indonesia's capital, Jakarta, found a host of protected and endangered turtles and tortoises openly for sale, plus other protected species of reptiles, mammals and birds. Among them were 19 Green Turtles Chelonia mydas and eight Malaysian Giant Turtles Orlitia borneensis, both listed as Endangered by IUCN and Totally Protected in Indonesia. A host of non-native species were also seen, including a single Ploughshare Tortoise Astrochelys yniphora and 10 Radiated Tortoises Astrochelys radiata, both Critically Endangered species endemic to Madagascar and listed in Appendix I of CITES, meaning international commercial trade in them is prohibited. “Illegal and unsustainable trade in turtles and other reptiles in Indonesia is a serious threat to the conservation of many species. Indonesia's enforcement agencies must take firm action against traders in Indonesia flouting the law," said Shepherd.

Turtle Rules Limit Harvest (via Herp Digest)

At the end of the month the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Board will vote on new rules for taking turtles out of the wild. On Thursday the DNR held a public hearing in Macon.

Right now there are no limits on the number of freshwater turtles trappers and farmers can catch or breed. In 2010 lawmakers passed legislation requiring the DNR to come up with rules on commercial turtles.

David Hem's been a turtle farmer in North Georgia for 20 years. He takes mature snapping turtles from the wild and harvests their eggs on his farm.

"Most of it's going to China, the baby turtles. So, all I do, I don't sell the meat or anything. I have my own turtles, my own ponds. I dig eggs every season and sell the babies after I hatch them and they get shipped. Probably 99 percent of them go to China."

New rules would require reporting harvest numbers and species. That would limit Hem's take to 300 snapping turtles a year. DNR officials say the Chinese are buying American turtles for food and medicine after decimating their own wild populations.

Turtles Show Way to Prosperity (Via Herp Digest)

Turtles Show Way to Prosperity
By VINCENT M. MALLOZZI 12/26/11Earl Wilson/The New York Times

Passers-by gaze into the display window at a pearl store in Manhattan whose owner keeps turtles because they helped save his family from poverty.
The turtles in a large aquarium in a Midtown window often bring passers-by to a halt, even those used to seeing the unexpected.

"Everyone who passes this store wants to know about the turtles," said Johnny Lu, whose business specializes in the manufacture and sale of coral and pearl jewelry. "I tell them that my family owes everything we have to the turtles."

Mr. Lu, a fisherman's son who grew up in the Penghu Islands off the western coast of Taiwan, was 8 when a typhoon destroyed his father's boat and fishing equipment, plunging his family into despair.
"We nearly starved to death," said Mr. Lu, 58, who is one of 11 children. "We ate rotten potatoes for months. We couldn't afford rice. My mother went to the temple every day and prayed for some kind of miracle, but our situation seemed hopeless. We weren't starting again from the ground up; we were starting from somewhere beneath the ground."

Mr. Lu's mother and father, Lu Hong Kui-Su and Lu Ching-Shui, began making ends meet by collecting coral shells along the golden beaches of Penghu, decorating the shells as jewelry and selling them to local residents.

And then, one tiny step at a time, their miracle began to arrive.

Mr. Lu's father noticed that turtles roaming the Penghu Islands - also called the Pescadores - often nestled in pearl beds in shallow and deeper waters. He began following the trails of hundreds of turtles and discovered thousands upon thousands of pearls, which he began to sell, along with the coral shells, as jewelry.

In a short time, Mr. Lu's father became a well-to-do pearl farmer. He opened a factory in Taipei to produce pearl necklaces and other jewelry, and before long, American and other foreign retailers were demanding his product.

The family kept expanding the business. In 1984, Mr. Lu opened a pearl store in Manhattan. Two years later, he, his parents and his siblings created a second, much larger pearl farm on Hainan Island, in the South China Sea.

ohnny Lu says turtles were the reason his family was able to succeed in the pearl business.
At 246 West 38th Street, Mr. Lu has one of his three Manhattan stores. It is also where about two dozen turtles raise the curiosity of people on the street.

"This business will remain with my family for generations to come," said Mr. Lu, whose Lucoral and Lupearl Corporation also has manufacturing and wholesale arms. "We have a lot of nieces and nephews to put to work."

One of Mr. Lu's sisters, Flora Lu, runs the Lucoral Museum and Gift Shop in Honolulu.
In a telephone interview, she said: "I remember being a little girl on the islands, always looking for pearls and for coral shells to recycle because we were really struggling. On the Penghu Islands, turtles are seen as good luck charms, as symbols of hope. Those turtles certainly brought my family good luck. Looking back now, it all seems like a fairy tale."

Other siblings operate wholesaling and distribution businesses in Hawaii, Hong Kong, mainland China and Japan, and the Lu family's pearls are sold by retailers in 40 countries, including the United States, Britain, France and Italy.

"Mr. Lu is the godfather of the pearl business," said Hesham Abdelrahman, a salesman at the 38th Street store, which is called the Lucoral and Lupearl Company.

"Up until the mid-1990s, the Lu family pretty much controlled the entire pearl industry, and though other competitors started jumping into the marketplace, the Lu family is still one of the largest and best-known pearl distributors in the world."

To help illustrate his point, Mr. Abdelrahman pointed to a wall filled with photographs and letters from first ladies who have worn Lu pearls, including Michelle Obama, Barbara Bush and Nancy Reagan, and from Margaret Thatcher, the former British prime minister.

"The beautiful coral tree with the amethyst base is a work of art and one I will always treasure," Mrs. Reagan wrote to Mr. Lu in 1981 after visiting the family's pearl factory in Taipei.

As he fed his turtles one morning, Mr. Lu, who also teaches jewelry making, noted that many of the turtles are donated by local residents whose children have gone off to school and can no longer care for them.

"I tell my neighbors, 'Bring all of your turtles to me, I'll take care of them,' " Mr. Lu said. "Turtles once saved my entire family, so as long as I'm here, they will always have a home."

Turtles 'communicate with each other before hatching'

Scientists believe baby turtles can communicate with each other before they hatch and can arrange to emerge from their eggs at the same time.

A study of Australia's Murray short-necked turtle found the embryos synchronised their hatching to prevent smaller turtles emerging alone and being attacked by predators such as goannas and foxes.

It is believed the unhatched turtles, which lie enclosed in a tight nest, may be able to sense each other's heart vibrations or may detect gases emitted from the breath of other turtles. In this way, more developed turtles can send signals on their growth status to less developed ones to encourage them to increase their growth rates.

"I am pretty sure they're not sitting there chatting to each other but no one really knows," said Dr Ricky Spencer, a co-author of the new study.

The researchers, from the University of Western Study, said that embryos positioned at the bottom of the nest – where temperatures are lower – have a "catch-up mechanism" which enables them to overcome their longer incubation periods. However, the precise nature of the mechanism remains unknown.

"They might be cueing in on heart rates," Dr Spencer told ABC Radio. "They are all touching each other within the nests so there might be vibrations there. A nest environment is pretty much an enclosed cavity where gas exchange might be a cue as well ... They breathe, so if you get increases in carbon dioxide within a nest they might be cueing on in that."

The researchers studied the turtles by dividing a clutch of eggs into two and incubating them at different temperature levels. They then united the eggs after a week and analysed the embryonic heart rates and metabolic rates. During the last third of the incubation period, the cooler embryos had sped up their heart rate and metabolism and hatched within a couple of days of the warmer ones.

"They increased their developmental rate essentially independent of temperature [and] that allowed them to hatch earlier," Dr Spencer said.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/8925107/Turtles-communicate-with-each-other-before-hatching.html

Vast turtle slaughter in Bangladesh

Unsustainable turtle slaughter in BangladeshNovember 2011. Wildlife Extra recently became aware of the Kali Puja festival in Bangladesh, where hundreds of thousands of turtles are slaughtered annually. To find out more about this festival, we asked Dr S. M. A. Rashid, chief executive of CARINAM (Centre for advanced research in natural resources & management), a few questions. Dr Rashid very kindly gave the following replies.

I have recently become aware of the Kali Puja Festival - I believe it is an annual event? Is this a long standing event, and how many turtles do they slaughter every year?
The Kali Puja is an annual festival observed by Hindus, mostly living in West Bengal (India) and Bangladesh. The Puja is a prayer on a holy occasion (like Christmas or Eid). The Hindu religion is not linked to eating turtles but somehow it has become a tradition among Hindus and almost every Hindu wants to eat turtles on this particular day as it is considered an auspicious or ‘holy' day, in much the same way that turkeys are eaten on Christmas. Several hundred thousand turtles are slaughtered every year all during Kali Puja.

Where do all the turtles come from, and are there any regulations over what species and numbers that may be killed?
All the turtles are captured from the wild. Collection of turtles is carried out all over Bangladesh and the traders have a very strong multi-tier network and mobile phones have made their work much more ‘productive'. The Bangladesh Wildlife Preservation Act 1974 prohibits capturing killing of some species listed in its Schedules. However the Act has been revised as The Bangladesh Wildlife Act 2011 and is now awaiting approval of the parliament. The revised act protects all wildlife.

There is no quota as to how many turtles may be captured/killed. No capture or killing is permitted under the Act/law but due to weak implementation and enforcement such illegal trade continues.

Read more here ...

Duck's Boon Might Be a Turtle's Bane: Overturned Duck Nest Boxes Can Be Death Traps for Turtles

ScienceDaily (Nov. 3, 2011) — Duck nest boxes used to aid cavity-nesting ducks can prove to be turtle death traps. That was the discovery made by University of Cincinnati Educator Associate Professor Denis Conover, of the Department of Biological Sciences in UC's McMicken College of Arts and Sciences, when he came upon a duck nest box in the wetlands of southern Ohio's Miami Whitewater Forest. The box had tipped over. Turtle corpses were strewn about the mud and mire surrounding the fallen nesting box. Several species of turtles had been trapped by the box, and not all of them made it out alive.

Conover's concern for the turtles' welfare led him and co-authors Wayne Wauligman and Karen Cody, a naturalist, to write "Tipped Over Duck Nest Box Traps Turtles in a Restored Wetland (Ohio)," to raise awareness about the problem of improperly maintained and monitored duck nest boxes. A slide presentation of the research will be displayed at the Kansas Herpetological Society's (KHS) annual meeting in Wichita, Kansas, Nov. 4-6, 2011.

Ordinarily a good thing, duck nest boxes -- a nesting box attached to a pole in the wetland ground -- are often erected in wetlands to provide nest sites for cavity-nesting ducks such as wood ducks and hooded mergansers. In fact, duck nest boxes have been put up in many wetlands throughout the United States and Canada and have helped with increasing wood duck populations.

However, improper care of these boxes can have devastating effects on wetland turtles. Conover writes that "if a pole gets tipped over and the box gets into the water, these duck nest boxes can serve as death traps for turtles."

In Conover's case, the three species of trapped turtles -- painted, snapping and box -- are not endangered in Ohio. Still, other wetlands, such as the Beaver Creek Wetlands, Spring Valley Wildlife Area, and Cedar Bog, may harbor species like the spotted turtle which are much rarer. Such species may also be affected by overturned duck nest boxes.

Duck nest boxes are typically monitored and maintained during the winter or just before the breeding season, but Conover suggests that it "should probably be done more frequently." Periodically checking on duck nest boxes throughout the year can help reduce the dangerous and sometimes fatal consequences overturned boxes can have on turtles.

"Our goal is to reduce suffering and death of turtles by warning land managers about the threat to turtles that downed duck nest boxes can pose."

Conover recently finished an article titled, "Keystone Role of Beavers in a Restored Wetland (Ohio)," and has also published articles on control of Amur honeysuckle, deer management, woodland, wetland and prairie restoration, earlier flowering of wetland prairie plants associated with global warming, seed germination, plant/water relations, and ecological physiology of freshwater clams.

Over the years Conover has conducted many botanical surveys for various park districts and conservation groups such as Oxbow, Inc. and the Bergamo Center at Mount Saint John Nature Preserve. He is currently doing a vascular plant survey at Campbell Lakes Preserve for the Hamilton County Park District.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111103120457.htm

100,000 turtles sacrificed in ritual slaughter to celebrate Hindu festival (Via Herp Digest)

100,000 turtles sacrificed in ritual slaughter to celebrate Hindu festival
by Daily Mail Reporter, 10/27/11

You must see the pictures that go with this article go to
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2054278/100-000-turtles-sacrificed-ritual-slaughter-celebrate-Hindu-festival.html#ixzz1c67wbOqs
A Hindu festival that celebrates light has been shrouded in darkness following the sacrificial slaughter of up to 100,000 turtles.

Shown in these horrifying images, critically endangered species including the northern river terrapin and the black soft-shell turtle, are sacrificed in the name of religion.

The ancient ritual takes place during the celebration of Kali Puja, which started in Bengal yesterday.
Held once a year, and corresponding with the festival Diwali, sacrifices are made to Kali, the Hindu goddess of power.

During Kali Puja, market streets are teeming with devotees who purchase and consume thousands of turtles.

One of the species found on Dhaka's markets is the northern river terrapin.

On paper it is offered the same level of protection as a tiger.

Another targeted species is the black soft-shell, which has only recently been officially been found in the wild and it has a single population in a pond in the region of Chittagong.

Even though many of the turtles are critically endangered and feature on Schedule 1 of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, the slaughter is often overlooked by authorities.

The act has enraged conservation groups in India and abroad.

"Since the killing of turtles was made illegal, this mass slaughter has been carried out in the name of 'religion'," said Dr Rashid of Centre for Advanced Research in Natural Resources & Management (CARINAM) in Bangladesh.

'It's because of this that the authorities turn a blind eye - they are too scared of causing social unrest."
At Dhaka's Tanti Market, the turtles are butchered and their meat, limbs and organs are then sold to customers.

The meat sells for between $10 - $60 per kilo (£6-£37), depending on the species.
Followers believe that by eating the turtle, they will take on its strength and longevity.
During festival, the majority of Bangladesh's Hindu population consume turtle meat.

Businessman Sunil Kumar Bala commented: "We have been eating turtles during Kali Puja for a long time. It is a tradition that we will maintain even if the government tries to stop us."
The turtle trade offers a source of income to up to 30,000 people.

Hari, the longest serving trader of turtles in Dhaka's markets, estimates he has been responsible for killing around 20,000 tons of turtles.

"If this this trade stops, many people's livelihoods will suffer," he said.

"I have been doing this for the last 40 years, if you stop this now, what will I do?"

Turtle conservationists, however, are up in arms.

"The Kali Puja turtle market is a wildlife travesty of the worst kind," said Rick Hudson of the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA) in Fort Worth, US.

"The brutality with which turtles are slaughtered is gruesome, shocking and an abomination of nature."

Once the market concludes, the shells are cleaned, scraped of meat and then dried.

The dried shell has multiple uses. It is processed and fed to fish and chicken.

The pharmaceutical industry uses it to make the containers of capsules for antibiotics and other drugs.

However, the majority of dried shell is shipped to south east Asia where it is used in traditional medicine. It is believed that consuming turtle shell increases virility.

As night fell in Dhaka yesterday, the ceremonies began. During sacrifices to Kali, goats were beheaded and turtles impaled upside down on poles.

As they tried to escape, their head and legs were chopped off.

Turtles have been on earth for over 220 million years, even surviving K-T boundary that wiped out the dinosaurs.

Now they are amongst the world's most endangered animals; around half of their 300+ species are threatened with extinction.

"Turtles are being collected, traded, and eaten or otherwise used, in overwhelming numbers.

"They are used for food, pets, traditional medicine-eggs, juveniles, adults, body parts-all are exploited indiscriminately, with little regard for sustainability. On top of the targeted onslaught, their habitats are being increasingly fragmented, destroyed, developed, and polluted," from "Turtles in Trouble" by the Turtle Conservation Coalition.

Over recent years Bangladesh has become a hot spot for the illegal turtle smuggling trade.

Animals are smuggled in from neighbouring nations and then re-exported due to Bangladesh's porous border security.

The current outlook for many of the species is grim.

"This situation is completely unsustainable. Unless the trade for turtles stops and a slaughter in the name of religion is regulated, a number of species will be lost forever," said Dr. Rashid.

Mass starvation of dugongs and turtles on Great Barrier Reef

A sudden mass starvation of turtles and dugongs, a rare sea mammal, off the coast of Queensland has prompted warnings of a long-term natural disaster in the normally sheltered waters just inshore of Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
By Jonathan Pearlman, Sydney

Along hundreds of miles of beaches and on the shore of small islands, the rotting carcasses of green turtles and dugongs have are being washed ashore in alarming numbers - victims, scientists believe, of the after effects of the cyclone and floods that have afflicted this part of Australia in the past year.

Now naturalists fear that up to 1,500 dugongs – a species of sea cows – and 6,000 turtles along the Reef are likely to die in the coming months because their main food source, sea grass, which grows on the ocean floor, was largely wiped out by the floods and cyclone.

In some places the plants were ripped from the seabed by currents created by the storms and in others they were inundated under silt and soil washed out from the land by the torrential rains.

Beachgoers have reported stumbling across groups of turtles in shallow waters near Townsville – only to discover they were dead or dying.

"This is a long-term environmental disaster," said Dr Ellen Ariel, a turtle expert at James Cook University.

"It is not like an oil spill where you can clean the water and move on. It is such a large stretch of coastline... We have had mass strandings of turtles. The turtles are sick and starving and can't go on any longer. They don't have anywhere to go."

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority says it expects more dugongs to die than in any previous event.

Marine experts have expressed growing concerns about the future of the Reef's dugongs, which are regarded as a vulnerable species. The herbivorous creatures, related to the Florida manatee and believed to be the source of the mermaid myth, helped the Great Barrier Reef gain its listing as a World Heritage area in 1981.

But their number around the southern parts of the Reef, which attracts the largest number of tourist, has declined by an estimated 95 per cent over the past 50 years. Some 5,500 live in the main section of the Reef, and here growing numbers of carcasses have been washing up on to coastal golf courses and island beaches.

Clive Last, who works as a groundsman on a privately-owned island near the town of Gladstone, was making his way back to the shoreline on his boat last month when he spotted a "black bulge" on the rocks of a small island, Witt Island. He made his way to the pontoon and discovered the marooned body of a seven-foot dugong, with much of its skin peeled away.

"I could see straight away there was something there that shouldn't be there," he told the Sunday Telegraph.

"I thought, not another one. It was a big grey and white dead mass, but it was intact. There was no sign of trauma or cuts or bruising. Something is going wrong. I've lived here for 50 years but I have never seen deaths in such numbers."

Mark Read, a protected species expert at the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, said turtles and dugongs were the "lawnmowers of the sea" and their losses could have a damaging impact on the overall marine ecology.

"We are looking at the highest ever record for stranded dugongs and the same for turtles," he told The Sunday Telegraph.

"Turtles and dugongs play a key role in maintaining healthy seagrass beds. We have concerns about the likely effect from a marked decline of turtles and dugongs. We don't know what the consequences are."

One of the world's experts on dugongs, Prof Helene Marsh, from James Cook University, said she was concerned about the dugong's future in the southern section of the Reef. "It is unprecedented that such a huge area of coast was affected. In this case, because the floods and cyclone were so huge and the damage so widespread - and it followed a wet year last year - we are wondering whether these animals have anywhere else to go."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/8753630/Mass-starvation-of-dugongs-and-turtles-on-Great-Barrier-Reef.html

International Trade Restrictions Sought to End Unsustainable Exploitation of Wild Turtles (Via HerpDigest)

International Trade Restrictions Sought to End Unsustainable Exploitation of Wild Turtles across the Midwest, South -More Than 12 Million Turtles Caught, Exported Over Past Five Years



MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. Press Release, August 15, 2011- The Center for Biological Diversity filed a petition today urging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to take steps to end unsustainable international trade in U.S. freshwater turtles. Specifically, the Center seeks protection under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) for 20 species of native midwestern and southern freshwater turtles, including the alligator snapping turtle, map turtles, softshell turtles, the spotted turtle, Blanding's turtle and the diamondback terrapin.



"Turtle traders in the United States are catching and exporting millions of wild-caught freshwater turtles each year," said Collette Adkins Giese, the Center's herpetofauna staff attorney. "That kind of unsustainable harvest is rapidly depleting native turtle populations that are already suffering from other threats like habitat loss, water pollution and road mortality."



More than 12 million wild-caught live turtles have been exported from the United States in the past five years. Most are used to supply food and medicinal markets in Asia, where turtle consumption rates have soared and where native populations of turtles have already been decimated. Adult turtles are also taken from the wild to breed hatchlings for the international pet trade.



Overharvest has caused population declines in almost all turtle species that are now endangered or rare. For example, the beautiful ringed map turtle - now listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act - suffered sharp declines because of overcollection for the pet trade. And the alligator snapping turtle, which can reach 250 pounds and is the largest freshwater turtle in the United States, has been intensively exploited for its meat.



"The United States needs to act now to save our freshwater turtles," said Adkins Giese. "International protection from exploitation is vital for the survival of wild freshwater turtle populations in the country."

The Center's petition asks that the alligator snapping turtle, 13 species of map turtles, three species of softshell turtles, the spotted turtle, Blanding's turtle, and the diamondback terrapin be listed in CITES Appendix II. Trade for species on this list is regulated using a permit system, with permits issued only when trade has been determined to be nondetrimental to the survival of a species. CITES-listed species are also subject to mandatory reporting requirements.



Background
The United States is a turtle biodiversity hotspot, home to more types of turtles than any other country in the world. As part of the Center's campaign to protect this rich natural heritage, the group petitioned states with unrestricted commercial turtle harvest to improve harvest regulations. Florida responded by banning almost all commercial harvest of freshwater turtles from public and private waters. The Center has also petitioned to list several species of imperiled freshwater turtles under the Endangered Species Act.



Mounting scientific evidence shows that amphibians and reptiles (together called "herpetofauna") are among the most imperiled species on Earth. Ubiquitous toxins, global warming, nonnative predators, overcollection, habitat destruction and disease are key factors leading to demise of amphibians and reptiles in the United States and worldwide. For more information about the Center's campaign to stop the herpetofauna extinction crisis, visit



http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/amphibian_conservation/index.html.

Contact: Collette Adkins Giese, (651) 955-3821

For copy of the petition go to:



http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/southern_and_midwestern_freshwater_turtles/pdfs/Freshwater_turtle

s-CITES_petition_Aug_8.pdf

International Trade Restrictions Sought to End Unsustainable Exploitation of Wild Turtles (Via HerpDigest)

International Trade Restrictions Sought to End Unsustainable Exploitation of Wild Turtles across the Midwest, South -More Than 12 Million Turtles Caught, Exported Over Past Five Years



MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. Press Release, August 15, 2011- The Center for Biological Diversity filed a petition today urging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to take steps to end unsustainable international trade in U.S. freshwater turtles. Specifically, the Center seeks protection under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) for 20 species of native midwestern and southern freshwater turtles, including the alligator snapping turtle, map turtles, softshell turtles, the spotted turtle, Blanding's turtle and the diamondback terrapin.



"Turtle traders in the United States are catching and exporting millions of wild-caught freshwater turtles each year," said Collette Adkins Giese, the Center's herpetofauna staff attorney. "That kind of unsustainable harvest is rapidly depleting native turtle populations that are already suffering from other threats like habitat loss, water pollution and road mortality."



More than 12 million wild-caught live turtles have been exported from the United States in the past five years. Most are used to supply food and medicinal markets in Asia, where turtle consumption rates have soared and where native populations of turtles have already been decimated. Adult turtles are also taken from the wild to breed hatchlings for the international pet trade.



Overharvest has caused population declines in almost all turtle species that are now endangered or rare. For example, the beautiful ringed map turtle - now listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act - suffered sharp declines because of overcollection for the pet trade. And the alligator snapping turtle, which can reach 250 pounds and is the largest freshwater turtle in the United States, has been intensively exploited for its meat.



"The United States needs to act now to save our freshwater turtles," said Adkins Giese. "International protection from exploitation is vital for the survival of wild freshwater turtle populations in the country."

The Center's petition asks that the alligator snapping turtle, 13 species of map turtles, three species of softshell turtles, the spotted turtle, Blanding's turtle, and the diamondback terrapin be listed in CITES Appendix II. Trade for species on this list is regulated using a permit system, with permits issued only when trade has been determined to be nondetrimental to the survival of a species. CITES-listed species are also subject to mandatory reporting requirements.



Background
The United States is a turtle biodiversity hotspot, home to more types of turtles than any other country in the world. As part of the Center's campaign to protect this rich natural heritage, the group petitioned states with unrestricted commercial turtle harvest to improve harvest regulations. Florida responded by banning almost all commercial harvest of freshwater turtles from public and private waters. The Center has also petitioned to list several species of imperiled freshwater turtles under the Endangered Species Act.



Mounting scientific evidence shows that amphibians and reptiles (together called "herpetofauna") are among the most imperiled species on Earth. Ubiquitous toxins, global warming, nonnative predators, overcollection, habitat destruction and disease are key factors leading to demise of amphibians and reptiles in the United States and worldwide. For more information about the Center's campaign to stop the herpetofauna extinction crisis, visit



http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/amphibian_conservation/index.html.

Contact: Collette Adkins Giese, (651) 955-3821

For copy of the petition go to:



http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/southern_and_midwestern_freshwater_turtles/pdfs/Freshwater_turtle

s-CITES_petition_Aug_8.pdf

Turtle crisis looms for Great Barrier Reef

Queensland, Australia: WWF has received numerous reports from aboriginal groups on the north-eastern coast of Australia of large numbers of sick, starving and dead turtles washing up on beaches. The reports come following the loss of sea grasses after Cyclone Yasi and floods hit the area back in February.


The increase in turtle deaths for April may be more than five times higher this year compared to the same time last year.

“If these numbers are accurate, then this is a shocking development for the Great Barrier Reef​” said WWF’s Conservation on Country Manager Cliff Cobbo. “We urgently need clarification from the Queensland Government on how many turtles are being found dead along the Great Barrier Reef coast”.

Turtle hospitals in Townsville, Queensland are being overwhelmed with sick and starving animals and do not have the resources to handle the number of turtles expected to need emergency care over the next 18 months.

Some local aboriginal groups have been so concerned by what they are seeing they plan to suspend issuing hunting permits within their saltwater country.

CEO of the Girringun Aboriginal Corporation, Phil Rist, said large numbers of dead turtles and dugongs had been found in recent weeks and that strandings are occurring on a weekly basis.

Numerous threats
WWF believes recent extreme weather events like Cyclone Yasi and the Queensland floods, together with threats such as entanglement in fishing nets, water pollution and large-scale coastal developments have led to this increase in deaths.

“In the past turtles have been healthy enough to deal with extreme weather events, but the combined pressure of more fishing nets, declining water quality and associated disease, on top of the loss of critical habitats as a result of large coastal developments have all undermined their chances of survival,” Cobbo said.

WWF is calling on both sides of Queensland politics to commit to building greater resilience in populations of threatened marine species on the Great Barrier Reef through reforming net fisheries, reducing land-based pollution on the reef, and better managing large coastal developments.

WWF’s Global Marine Turtle Programme
Five of the seven species of marine turtle are classified as endangered or critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources​ (IUCN).

WWF has been working on marine turtle conservation for nearly 50 years and has provided a Global Marine Turtle Strategy to outline WWF priorities for marine turtle conservation.

The benefits of saving marine turtles go far beyond simply protecting these remarkable species.

Conservation efforts will make fisheries more sustainable and provide benefits to small communities and with marine turtles becoming increasingly important as an ecotourism attraction, a live turtle is worth more than a dead turtle.

More Reasons Not to Abandon the Baby Turtle Ban (Via herp Digest)

More Reasons Not to Abandon the Baby Turtle Ban
Animals.Change.org, By Laura Goldman, September 19, 2010

Louisiana turtle farmers are suing the FDA to lift a 35-year-old ban on the sale of baby red-eared slider turtles, saying they desperately need the business and now have efficient ways to eliminate salmonella, which was the reason for the 1975 ban on the U.S. sale of turtles smaller than 4 inches. A major reason why those of us who support the ban want it to stay in place is because, although the baby turtles may be salmonella-free, they can still continue to shed the bacteria throughout their lives, wreaking havoc on humans and wildlife alike.

When I wrote about this last month, I didn't realize there were equally compelling reasons to keep the ban intact, and those reasons are practically in my own backyard. The Madrona Marsh Preserve in the Los Angeles area is a 10-acre refuge - basically a suburban pond - and many turtle owners apparently think it's the perfect habitat in which to abandon their turtles. That's right, when the adorable, silver-dollar-sized baby red-eared sliders illegally bought at flea markets, on the internet or elsewhere grow up to become not-so-cute, foot-long, high-maintenance adults, they're often dumped.

Although the turtles can live to be 50 or older in a proper pond, they have difficulty surviving in places like Madrona Marsh. The Daily Breeze reported last week that officials are finding increasing numbers of the turtles either dead or sick from extreme dehydration. They're also easy prey for raccoons and other wildlife.

"In the last couple of weeks I've found three dead ones," Tracy Drake, manager of the preserve, told the newspaper. "We have people that go up to the gate at night and push them through."

In a fact sheet, the U.S. Geological Society says that throughout its nonindigenous range, the turtles "are introduced primarily through pet releases and escapes; a situation which has continued for several decades since the 1930s, reaching a peak during the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles television cartoon craze of the late 1980s-early 1990s."

Sadly, the turtles have no mutant ninja powers in real life, and rarely grow up to become teenagers.
"The animal trade business is a little scary and we see the dark side of it here," Drake said. "They have their lives and personalities. When they get abandoned, I don't know if they think like we do, but they know they've been abandoned."

The dumped turtles that are strong or lucky enough to survive have become a major threat to western pond turtles, a species native to California. Because of the sliders' aggressive eating and reproducing habits, the USGS has labeled them "clearly invasive."

Since Madrona Marsh represents just one small area inundated with illegally obtained sliders - turtles that carry salmonella, are capable of destroying other species and are typically abandoned and left to die by dehydration or starvation - what's the point of lifting the ban and opening the floodgates for thousands of more unwanted turtles?

At http://animals.change.org/petitions/view/dont_lift_the_us_ban_on_the_sale_of_small_turtles there is a petition asking the FDA to continue banning the sale of baby red-eared slider turtles.

Tybee Island's pregnant turtles no match for motorists

Tybee Island's pregnant turtles no match for motorists
July 16, 2011 , by Mary Lnders Savannah Morning NewsAround this time each year, diamondback terrapins get an undeniable urge to lay their eggs.
Sadly for many of the lady terrapins in the marshes around Tybee, they have to cross busy U.S. 80 to find a good nesting spot on higher ground.

The race of turtle against traffic rarely ends well for the terrapin, a species that lives in salt marshes from Cape Cod to the Florida Keys and west along the Gulf Coast to Texas.

So far this year, more than 70 terrapins have lost that contest on U.S. 80.

Once numerous, terrapins were hunted to near extinction for the dining pleasure of turtle soup lovers around the turn of the last century. Their recovery from that fad has been slowed by habitat loss, drowning in crab traps and road kills. They're even occasionally threatened by airplanes. Recently, air traffic controllers at John F. Kennedy airport in New York shut down a runway as gravid terrapins crossed it to reach their nesting grounds. Terrapins are listed as a species of concern under the federal Endangered Species Act.

Like the air traffic controllers at JFK, marine educators at Tybee Island Marine Science Center do what they can to help the turtles. On their way to and from work each day, the educators are on mobile crossing guard duty.

One of the marine educators, Lauren Broome, stopped her car one day on her way home from Tybee when she saw one terrapin doing its version of the 100-yard dash.

"She was booking it," Broome said. "They're pretty quick on the street. Four or five vehicles missed her including one with a trailer, then an SUV hit her. The whole time I was cringing."

Broome knew the turtle was a goner but collected the terrapin anyway.

"She was obviously not going to make it, but I wanted to save her eggs," she said. "But they were all crushed."

That's not always the case. Broome and her colleagues have been able to extract eggs from three females and hand them over to Kathryn Craven, associate professor of biology at Armstrong Atlantic State University. Craven and her students incubate the eggs, carefully burying each in vermiculite in its own compartment of a tackle box. So far they have four clutches in the incubator, 24 eggs in all. Two sets are incubating at 25 degrees Celsius to produce males, and two are at 30 degrees Celsius to produce females. The first of the quarter-sized babies should be hatching any day now.
Informal counts of the terrapin road kills have Craven suspecting 2011 has been tough on terrapins compared to last year.

"My conclusion is that there are more animals out on the road," she said. And awareness from motorists may be down.

"As far as I know, (Georgia) DOT didn't replace the turtle signs on the causeway," she said. "They were gone by the end of last season, and there were none this year. It would be nice if DOT would replace them."

That's a concern for Ross Dersch, too. A fan of turtles who keeps yellow-bellied sliders and map turtles along with some red-footed tortoises, Dersch is frustrated the signs are gone.

"It just gets me that nobody puts signs up," he said.

Craven and the marine center educators urge drivers to be on the lookout for terrapins, especially in the evening or after a rain. And they urge would-be rescuers to ensure their own safety first.

"Take it slow," Craven said. "I know there's a lot of pressure in the traffic out there. Take it slow and watch for animals."

Only pull over if it's safe to do so. If you do assist a terrapin, give it a lift to whatever side it's headed, they advise.

Tough Turtles survive Cretaceous meteorite impact

New fossil localities from North Dakota and Montana have produced the remains of a turtle that survived the 65 million-year-old meteorite impact that wiped out the dinosaurs. The resulting study, published in the latest issue of the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, suggests that Boremys, a turtle that belongs to a group known as the baenids (bay-een-ids) survived the extinction event unharmed. Baenids are a group of extinct river turtles native to North America that flourished from approximately 80 million to 42 million years ago.


The lead author, Tyler Lyson from Yale University, has been collecting turtles from the western United States for years, and immediately realized the importance of these new specimens, "This find further confirms that turtles were not fazed by the meteorite that killed the dinosaurs 65 million years-ago."


The survival of turtles during this massive extinction event appears counterintuitive with what we know about other organisms. While other groups of animals show high rates of extinction at the Cretaceous/Paleocene (K/T) boundary 65-million-years ago, this new discovery provides more data indicating that turtles were largely unaffected by the meteorite impact. Lyson and colleagues found that if you just looked at turtles during this time, you would not even notice that one of the largest extinction events in Earth’s history had occurred.

The researchers recovered the new Boremys turtle remains from rocks in southwestern North Dakota and eastern Montana. These rock formations, known as the Hell Creek and Fort Union, respectively, have been actively collected for fossils by paleontologists for more than 100 years. This new study proves that even in well-searched localities, new fossil discoveries can still be uncovered. Co-author Dr. Walter Joyce acknowledged his surprise with the new discovery, "At first I did not believe Tyler when he told me that he had found Boremys in Paleocene deposits."


Lyson and his co-authors believe that features of the shell of Boremys did not help its chances of preservation in the fossil record. The turtle had very thin shell bones relative to other baenids, and they remained unfused throughout the turtle’s life. These features likely led to its skeleton being scattered after death, making the chances of a whole shell being preserved very low. The authors also noted that the features of the shell were very similar to another turtle species living at the same time, which lead to initial misidentification.

With the discovery of this turtle, Lyson and his colleagues can now say that at least eight types of baenid turtles survived the meteorite impact that killed so many other animals.

http://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2011/07/tough-turtles-survive-cretaceous.html

Massachusetts wildlife officials seeks top turtle roadkill sites

Massachusetts wildlife officials seeks top turtle roadkill sites
7/5/11 Turle Zone News, News from around the Commonwealth concerning turtles.
By Stan Freeman for MassLive.com

Massachusetts wildlife officials seek public's help locating top turtle roadkill sites
Question: Why did the turtle cross the road?

Answer: A genetic imperative.

In recent weeks, turtles have been climbing out of the comfortable confines of ponds, lakes and streams, driven by strong reproductive instincts that have launched them on a search to find a suitable spot on dry land to lay eggs.

However, a huge number of them are killed on roadways as they make the effort, and that worries state wildlife officials who are asking the public's help in identifying turtle death hot spots.

"Many turtle species in Massachusetts are in decline and a lot of that has to do with road mortality," said Marion E. Larson, a wildlife biologist for the state Division of Fisheries & Wildlife.

"So we're asking people to tell us about where they are seeing road-killed turtles to try and identify where there are highway crossings with a lot of mortality," Larson said. "Then, as roads are repaired by departments of transportation, they may be able to change the design to make it more turtle friendly."

The Turtle Roadway Mortality Study is a joint multi-year effort by the state Department of Transportation, the state Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program and the Vernal Pool Association. The online citizen reporting page can be found at: http://linkinglandscapes.info.

Massachusetts has 10 native turtles, all of which lay their eggs on land, even though some (including the state's largest native turtle, the snapping turtle) almost never venture from water at any other time.

The peak time for egg laying is late May to early July. Typically, the eggs, which are laid in holes dug in loose or sandy soil, hatch in two to three months.

Begun in 2010, the turtle study will need several years of data before the researchers "can feel confident that we've identified the majority of the significant roadkill sites" in the state, said Michael T. Jones, a biologist at University of Massachusetts in Amherst. Jones is one of the project's coordinators.

"The worst sites that we currently know of are in eastern Massachusetts, where road density and traffic volume are greatest. At one particularly bad site in Middlesex County, more than 100 turtles of multiple species are killed each spring," he said.

At that site, along Route 119 in Littleton, the state is putting in a "turtle-friendly" culvert, as part of a scheduled road upgrade, that will act as a tunnel to allow them to cross beneath the road, Larson said.

As road sections throughout the state come up for repair or upgrade, the list of turtle-mortality hot spots will be consulted to see if a change could be made to the project design to lower the mortality, Larson said.

Turtles can live long lives, with some box turtles reaching 100 years. Since some species do not reach reproductive age until they are age 10 or more, early deaths can have a great impact on their population, Jones said.

"Turtle populations appear to be more negatively affected by high levels of roadkill than amphibians and most mammals," he said.

However, that occurs because of the breaking up of landscapes by roads and development. According to the state Division of Fisheries & Wildlife, the number one reason why turtle populations - as well as those of many animals - are in decline is the fragmentation, degradation and loss of habitat.

Pollution: Sea Turtle Dies After Swallowing 317 Pieces Of Plastic

Pollution: Sea Turtle Dies After Swallowing 317 Pieces Of Plastic
Leanne Hall, Global Animal

(SEA TURTLES) AUSTRALIA - Plastic bags, small lids and even lollipop sticks were among the 317 pieces of plastic found in the digestive system of a green sea turtle who washed ashore on a New South Whales beach earlier this month. The young turtle was the worst case Rochelle Ferris and her team of volunteers at Australian Seabird Rescue had seen during their 15 years of work in the area.

The team responds to "about 40 sea turtle strandings a year that are directly related to plastic ingestion," according to Ferris. Unfortunately, the turtles mistake the plastic pieces for food.

A shocking 36 percent of sea turtles are affected by marine debris, such as plastic, according to recent research at the University of Queensland. Although the Australian Federal Government has addressed the issue, it is obvious that more needs to be done to reduce the amount of waste entering the ocean and inevitably destroying its inhabitants.

This tragic death demonstrates the negative impact we have on our oceanic friends. Lessen your impact by remembering the three Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

For more information and to watch a video in which Ferris discusses the incident as well as the larger issues, goto http://www.abc.net.au/local/videos/2011/06/30/3257970.htm?site=northcoast

Turtles-at-risk study to be conducted by South Nation

Turtles-at-risk study to be conducted by South Nation
Media Release
South Nation Conservation Authority

Finch - Jul. 8, 2011 - For the sixth season in a row, South Nation Conservation is inviting watershed residents to become involved in its ongoing rare turtle protection and enhancement program both by helping turtles cross the road safely and by reporting turtle sightings.

But be wary! One of the species involved in the program is the Snapping turtle which can deliver a sharp bite with its powerful beak to hands and fingers which come too close. If necessary in escorting one to safer surroundings, always pick up a Snapping turtle by the rear of its shell. Never pick up any turtle by its tail as it will more than likely result in injury to the turtle. 



Other species-at-risk are the Spotted Turtle, Stinkpot or Musk Turtle, Blanding's Turtle, and the Northern Map Turtle. The Painted turtle isn't endangered and isn't part of the program. 

Aimed at monitoring turtle locations, providing and protecting nesting sites, enhancing habitat, and redirecting turtles away from road surfaces and through culverts, the project relies on yearly funding of $25,000 from the province and about $60,000 from the federal government.

Provincial funding has been secured for the 2011-12 Rare Turtle study to date. If complete funding is not available, SNC hopes to continue with the program; however it may need to be scaled back accordingly. 

SNC Species-At-Risk Technician Karen Paquette notes that a high rate of road kills of mature turtles trying to reach preferred nesting sites, along with an assortment of predators going after eggs and hatchlings, means the chance of eggs surviving and then living to reach sexual maturity (anywhere from 10 to 25 human years) is less than one percent. 



Abundant turtles, she added, are seen as a good indicator of a healthy and ecologically stable watershed. Residents with nests on their properties can try to protect them with chicken wire covers. It's very important to remember to remove the covering after 3 to 4 weeks to allow hatchlings the ability to exit the nest. 

One of the program features are turtle crossing signs, with 40 already installed in the watershed and 30 more soon to be added.

New to the program this year are two illustrated outdoor tables being designed for conservation areas at High Falls in Casselman and Cass Bridge south of Winchester which describe the characteristics of the turtles in question. 

Paquette encouraged members of the public to report to SNC whenever a turtle is encountered, be it alive or dead, providing location, behavior (nesting, road-kill, on road, swimming etc.) and other species. Photos are extremely helpful in confirming identification.

Turtle Lady ends career of caring for turtles and tortoises (via Herp Digest)

Via Herp Digest:

Turtle Lady ends career of caring for turtles and tortoises
by Paige Cornwell/Lincoln Journal Star, 6/24/11


(Editor- I post this article because she was only 58 (I'm 57) so it makes me think how many of you out there any age have plans for what happens to your herps if something dreadful happens to you?)

For more than two decades, Angie Byorth has been the "Turtle Lady."
She's rehabilitated thousands of turtles, lobbied for turtle conservation, even changed her middle name to Turtle Lady.

But friends and colleagues say her days of saving turtles have come to an end. Byorth had a stroke May 7 and has been at Madonna Rehabilitation Center since.

Before that, she was caring for more than 100 turtles in her home.

Byorth, 58, declined to be interviewed, but friends said she should be released from the hospital Friday.
In a 2008 Journal Star letter to the editor, Byorth said she had lived closely with turtles and tortoises, as well as the occasional frog, salamander and snake, since she was 8 and growing up in her native Germany. She came to Lincoln in 1970 as an exchange student, then returned in 1972. She has two grown children.

She began rehabilitating turtles in 1973, and people began to drop off turtles they found or called her when they were concerned about one.

"Animal welfare has been and still is her first concern," said Joel Sartore, a National Geographic photographer and friend of Byorth, who also ran unsuccessfully for Legislature.
When Janice Spicha's two then-young sons found a turtle that had been smashed and was barely alive, people told her they had to go to the turtle lady, Spicha said.

"I thought she would suggest taking the turtle to a vet, but she personally reconstructed the shell," Spicha said. "She's one of a kind -- one of the good kind. You don't find many people who would dedicate their life to something so uncuddly as a turtle."

Mark Brohman, executive director of the Nebraska Environmental Trust, met Byorth in 1991 when he was a legislative aide and she came to Sen. Rod Johnson's office to learn how to change the laws regarding the commercial buying and selling of turtles.

"She was one of those big-hearted people," Brohman said. "And she loved turtles."

In 1993, the Legislature passed a law allowing the Game and Parks Commission to regulate the commercial exploitation of the state's 62 species of reptiles and amphibians. The commission also began collecting data on the effects that buying and selling had on wildlife.

Eleven years later, then-Gov. Mike Johanns signed regulations that prohibited the capture and sale of native Nebraska reptiles and amphibians.

"If anyone doubts that a small group can make a difference," they should take a lesson from Byorth, Johanns said in 2002.

Byorth's African desert tortoise Big Boy, then 6 years old and 30 pounds, took a stroll around the floor of the Legislature with turtle chocolates and a Turtle Conservation Project pen taped to his back.
Now weighing more than 100 pounds, Big Boy is living on a farm near Gretna with two other African desert tortoises. Brohman and Byorth's son placed him there after Byorth's stroke.

Her son and her friends have found homes for most of the turtles, save three she wants to keep. Among those placed were two bog turtles and three Russian turtles. Brohman's daughter took in two of Byorth's salamanders.

Brohman said he thought Byorth would end much of the conservation work for the animals she spent as many as six hours a day caring for.

"What I hope for her is that she gets well," Sartore said. "Then, we'll see. She's a young person."

Researchers Track Marine Turtle Movements (via Herp Digest)

Via Herp Digest:

Researchers Track Marine Turtle Movements
Friday, 24 June 2011, 10:48 CDT RedOrbit

A University of Exeter team has monitored the movements of an entire sub-population of marine turtle for the first time. The study confirms that through satellite tracking we can closely observe the day-to-day lives of marine turtles, accurately predicting their migrations and helping direct conservation efforts.
Writing in the journal Diversity and Distributions, lead author and University of Exeter PhD student Dr Lucy Hawkes (now at Bangor University) describes the migrations of a population of loggerhead turtles in the US Atlantic Ocean over a decade (1998). The findings reveal that, despite travelling thousands of miles every year, they rarely leave the waters of the USA or the continental shelf. This discovery could help the US direct conservation efforts where it is needed most.

Monitoring focused on adult females that nest along the coast from North Carolina to Georgia each summer and showed that they forage in shallow warm waters off most of the United States eastern seaboard. The study also revealed that the turtles which travel as far north to forage as New Jersey have to head south to avoid the cold winter there.

Dr Lucy Hawkes said: "This is the first time, to our knowledge, that anyone has been able to say precisely where and when you would find an entire sub-population of marine turtles. This is incredibly useful for conservation as it tells us exactly where to put our efforts. We knew that satellite tracking was a valuable tool, but this study highlights how powerful it is - without it we would still be guessing where these beautiful but vulnerable creatures live."

Dr Brendan Godley who led the University of Exeter team has been using satellite tracking to monitor sea turtles since 1997. He said: "By attaching small satellite tracking devices to turtles' shells, we can accurately monitor their whereabouts. Working with biologists and conservation groups around the world we are starting to build a much clearer picture of the lives of marine turtles, including their migrations, breeding and feeding habits. These findings form a valuable resource for conservation groups, who are concerned with protecting turtles from threats posed by fishing, pollution and climate change."