Cold Snap

Over 1000 sea turtles were stunned in recent cold snaps. (News source.)

Rehabbers have been busy. It has also taken out iguanas and other lizards in southern Florida. One girl has been defrosting some of the lizards.

Hope the Honeymoon's Better...

A marriage proposal on a SC beach ended in an official warning after illegal candles caused 60 or so baby loggerhead sea turtles to turn in the wrong direction, leading away from the sea. (News source.)

Threats to Green Sea Turtles

Transcript of an Australian news interview here.

Turtles & the Law

A Massachusetts developer has run into restrictions from box turtle conservation requirements. (News source.)

The US Army wants to relocate 1100 endangered California desert tortoises. (News source.)

The USFWS is reviewing the desert tortoise for possible ESA inclusion. (News source.)

A Canadian turtle keeper was sentenced to nine months in jail for keeping threatened species, mostly Blanding's turtles. (News source.)

Sea turtles and their eggs will be banned for possession, consumption, etc., in the Bahamas soon. (News source.)

Vietnamese officials seized 10 tons of tortoise and pangolin shells smuggled in from Indonesia. (News source.)

Poachers continue to threaten the Madagascar spider tortoise. (News source.)

Sea Turtle Smuggling

Indonesian police seized 45 poached green sea turtles. (News source.)

Other Turtle News

Ravens are on a hit list for killing endangered desert tortoises. (News source.)

A device for fishing nets that might protect sea turtles better is not enthusiastically welcomed by fishermen. (News source.)

Researchers found a leatherback sea turtle tagged in Nova Scotia has turned up in Colombia waters. (News source.)

Turtle Legal Issues

Florida has introduced their new rules on taking freshwater turtles. (News source.)

A Maldives resort could be in trouble for their unlicensed "conservation" project with sea turtle eggs. (News source.)

A nearly $3 million "ecopassage" under a busy Florida highway is mostly to save turtles (and protect motorists), but is controversial in Congress. (News source.)

Polish customs officials arrested a Ukrainian man for smuggling tortoises. (News source.)

A Filipino man was arrested in Malaysia for smuggling/selling turtle eggs. (News source.)

Turtle News

Indonesians on the island of Runduma are protecting the local sea turtles now, instead of using their eggs. (News source.)

The rare western pond turtle found in Washington state recently turns out to be an escaped family pet, but the owners probably won't get it back. (News source.)

Emergency fishing regs put into effect banning longlines in the Gulf of Mexico may become permanent. Longlines injure sea turtles and other non-target species. (News source.)

Dead turtles turning up in Menasha, WI, are worrying conservationists. (News source.)

A Florida man was charged with poaching sea turtle eggs. (News source.)

Leatherback Population

A leatherback sea turtle population that nests in Gabon has been noted as the world's largest. (Eurekalert.)

Sea Turtle Egg Thief

A man has been arrested in Florida for poaching 119 sea turtle eggs. (News source.)

Herp Legality

Florida wildlife officers arrested a man who had a sea turtle in his cooler. (News source.)

The UK is considering easing the captive wild animal regulations a bit. (News source.)

Wildlife officers in India held a man for possessing sand boas illegally. (News source.)

Sea Turtles Nesting

It's that time of year again. Sea turtles are nesting in Florida and Texas.

One Turtle Patrol is using a terrier to find nests. (News source.)

Leatherbacks

An article on these sea turtles, here.

Turtle Pick Indictment

A California woman was indicted for illegally imported guitar picks made from hawksbill sea turtle shells. (News source.)

Turtle Conservation

Arkansas Game and Fish has turned down petitions to end turtle harvesting in that state. (News source.)

Iowa conservationists are concerned with an increase in turtle harvesting in that state. (News source.)

The Dominican Republic has cracked down on souvenirs made from endangered sea turtle shell. (News source.)

Turtle Death by Pollution

Up to a third of leatherback turtle mortalities are due to ingested plastic garbage. (News source.)

Tortoise News

Australian loggerhead turtles ride the ocean currents to the waters off South America. (News source.)

Some conservationists argue that the Red List of endangered animals includes species that are actually safe from extinction (including several sea turtles) which takes conservation focus and dollars away from species that truly do need the help. (News source.)

Herps in Crime News

Approx. 550 Afghan tortoises were recovered from smugglers in Pakistan. (News source.)

A number of rare mammals, reptiles, and invertebrates were stolen from a warehouse in Australia. (News source.)

An official function in Malaysia has turned into a scandal as illegal sea turtle eggs were served. (News source.)

Sea Turtles

News on surveying leatherback turtle nests on Bougainville Island in Papua New Guinea here.

Turtle News

Tourists to Bald Head Island, NC, have the option of a "turtle walk," to view nesting sea turtles. (News source.)

A cold front in the Florida Keys is causing sea turtles to get sick. (News source.)

Turtle skulls are being studied for their resilience, for possible technological modeling. (News source.)

Flatbacks

Flatback sea turtles are the focus at the 29th Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation being held in Brisbane, Australia. (News source.)

Sea Turtle Prosthetics

A Japanese conservation group is planning to have prosthetic limbs made for a sea turtle injured in a probable shark attack. (News source.)

Sea Turtle Recovery Plan

NOAA and USFWS have put out a new recover plan for North Atlantic loggerhead sea turtles. (News source.)

Tracking a Sea Turtle

Ecuador is tracking a hawksbill turtle via satellite as it lives its life along the Ecuador coast. (News source.)

Sea Turtle Controversy

Nesting sea turtles are at the center of a debate between Queensland Park & Wildlife and campers at Inskip Point. (News source.)

Sea Turtle Deaths in India

Over 3300 olive Ridley sea turtles have been found dead on the coastline of Gahirmatha, suggesting that fishing trawlers are fishing illegally without turtle-exclusion devices. (News source.)

Turtles/Tortoises

A new study on territorialism in the loggerhead sea turtles of the Mediterranean, here.

The oldest living tortoise appears to be living on St. Helena, brought there from the Seychelles. (News source.)

Turtle Stranding Season

Cold air and warm water make for stunned turtles off Cape Cod... (News source.)

Sermons for Sea Turtles

Malaysian mosques are planning to urge Muslims to protect endangered sea turtles and not poach the eggs. (News source.)

Sea Turtle Medicine

A sea turtle attacked by dogs had to have a flipper amputated due to the injuries. (News source.)

Turtles Adjust

Sea turtles are adjusting their nesting dates to warmer climate conditions. (News source.)

Northern Territories Good for Sea Turtles

A report notes that the sandy islands off the NT coast in Australia are important as sea turtle breeding grounds. Six species live in those waters. (News source.)

Sea Turtle Conservation News

North Carolina has a higher than average number of loggerhead sea turtle nests this year. (News source.)

An article here on a rehabilitated green sea turtle released in California waters.

Turtles and Tortoises

Arizona Game & Fish is looking for people to adopt desert tortoises. (News source.)

Florida FWC is in the middle of a debate over their position regarding freshwater turtle harvesting. (News source.)

Here is a study on loggerhead sea turtle mortality off Baja California.

Sea Turtle Research

Five sea turtles have been tagged with satellite transmitting devices by Kenyan researchers. (News source.)

Turtle News (Not So Good)

A Florida turtle preserve (successful in breeding several rare species) is shutting down, due to bills, hurricane damage, and zoo politics. (News source.)

Sea turtles that reproduce on beaches near humans are less fertile. (News source.)

Turtles

Hurricane Gustav didn't do sea turtle nests in the Gulf of Mexico any favors. (News source.)

Poachers are targeting Sumatran turtles. (News source.)

A sea turtle conservation center off the Bali coast is trying to educate fishermen who otherwise catch and sell sea turtles. (News source.)

Sea Turtle Poachers

A group of Vietnamese sea turtle poachers was caught in Philippine waters. (News source.)

Sea Turtles

NC beach closings to protect a record number of sea turtle nests are frustrating fishing enthusiasts. (News source.)

A 2-headed loggerhead baby was released into the wild. (News source.)

Philippines Turtle Egg Poaching

230 turtle eggs were seized at a Philippines market; the vendors were let off with a warning. (News source.)

Turtle Nesting Record in Georgia

1544 loggerhead nests have been found on Georgia beaches this year, a record number. (News source.)

Turtle News

Archaeological evidence shows that Hermann's tortoises were prey to early hunters in Spain. (News source.)

Seven men in Mexico were arrested for poaching 9000 sea turtle eggs. (News source.)

Turtle News

The oldest known Fly River turtle turned 50. (News source.)

Significant leatherback sea turtle nesting sites have been found in the Caribbean. (News source.)

Sea Turtle Egg Poaching

The Florida nest of a loggerhead sea turtle was torn open and the eggs poached. Other nests were also disturbed and possibly robbed. (News source.)

Dead Turtles

Sea turtles killed by fishing nets (probably) have been washing up on Mexico beaches. (News source.)

And, an adult snapping turtle found near Corvalis, Oregon, was decapitated by ODFW when they couldn't find a home for her. (News source.)

Leatherbacks

More research here on leatherback migration routes.

Red Filters for Turtles

Red filters are being installed on lights on a Florida beach, which are less attractive to hatchling sea turtles. It is hoped this will keep the turtles from heading the wrong way after hatching. (News source.)

Turtle Transmissions

Tracking devices have been placed on nine loggerhead sea turtles from an Australian population for research purposes. (News source.)

Florida Symbol

The loggerhead sea turtle has been designated Florida's state saltwater reptile. (News source.)

Minnesota Sea Turtle Goes Home

A young loggerhead sea turtle anonymously dropped off at the MN Herp. Society several years ago has been raised up at the zoo (among other places) and is now being returned to Florida. (News source.)

Sea Turtle Tourism Success

The Georgia Sea Turtle Center on Jekyll Island has attracted more than 120,000 visitors in a single year. (News source.)

Turtle Egg Smuggling

Brunei Customs confiscated 8500 turtle eggs that were being smuggled into the country. (News source.)

Leatherbacks on Padre Island

For the first time in 70 years, it looks like a leatherback turtle has laid eggs on Padre Island (TX). (News source.)

Chelonian News

168 smuggled tortoises were seized by police in Bihar, India. (News source.)

16 sea turtles were rehabilitated and released here.

More on Turtle Egg Poaching

Malaysian officials are increasing patrols after 4000 sea turtle eggs were poached from nesting sites along the coast. (News source.)

Fighting Egg Smuggling

Malaysian Customs in Sabah are increasing efforts to fight sea turtle egg smugglers. 1,500 eggs were confiscated this month. (News source.)

Turtle Rescuing is Hazardous

A Baltimore, Maryland, man who has been rescuing box turtles from roads for decades has been busted by DNR. (News source.)

A woman who rescued a nesting sea turtle from two poachers on St. Maarten was attacked and seriously injured by the two men later. (News source.)

Sea Turtle News

First, an update from Texas: 10 more Kemp's ridley sea turtle nests have been found. (News source.)

And Anna Maria Island (Florida) is gearing up for nesting season. (News source.)

Sea Turtles

23 Kemp's Ridley sea turtle nests have been found on the Texas coast this year. (News source.)

Smuggler Sentenced

A Mexican man was sentenced to 16 months in prison and 3 years supervised release by a US federal court for smuggling sea turtle products. (News source.)

Sea Turtle Fatality

A sea turtle dish was eaten by several minors in the Philippines, ending in one fatality and 10 or more in the hospital. (Bacterial toxin?) (News source.)

Boats More Dangerous to Sea Turtles than Plastic

There's some controversy over in Australia over the threats toward sea turtles and other wildlife. While plastic bags have been commonly heralded as a danger (and certainly, they can be), some conservationists are saying that danger is overhyped, while greater threats (like boats) are underplayed. (News source.)

Turtle Operation

Veterinary surgeons in Israel inserted a metal plate into a loggerhead turtle's fin, after it was severed by fishing line. (News source.)

Sea Turtle Sentencing

A Micronesian woman awaits sentencing for purchasing a green sea turtle for consumption. (News source.)

Turtle News

Logging in Gabon has led to loose logs floating up on beaches, creating barriers for leatherback turtles trying to beach themselves for nesting. (News source.)

Sand dunes are being built up on South Padre Island for nesting Kemps Ridley sea turtles. (News source.)

A Missouri man was arrested for stealing a tortoise from a veterinary hospital. (News source.)

Sea Turtle Prosthetic

A green sea turtle that lost three flippers to sharks will be fitted with a prosthetic flipper so that won't just swim in circles. (News source.)

Green Turtle Death

A large female green turtle died after being rescued off an Australian beach, apparently from having swallowed a plastic bag. This isn't an uncommon occurrence, as the turtles mistake floating plastic bags for their jellyfish prey. (News source.)

Turtles and a Tortoise

Nine juvenile sea turtles were released at a Florida beach after rehabilitation from red tide poisoning. (News source.)

A pet tortoise in the UK piled up the dry straw substrate in her terrarium under the heat lamp, and almost burned the house down. (News source.)

Early Nesting Record

A leatherback nest in February at the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center is the earliest ever recorded in Florida. (News source.)

Sea Turtle Rehab

Here's a profile on the Loggerhead Marinelife Center, a sea turtle hospital.

Turtle News

71 poached Asian box turtles were released into the wild in the Philippines. (News source.)

Illegal fishing trawlers are entangling sea turtles, leaving them to die on the beaches of India's Gahirmatha marine sanctuary. Police have been asked to help with patrols. (News source.)

Cuba Ban on Sea Turtles

Cuba has banned the hunting of sea turtles on its beaches. (News source.)

Leatherback Journey

A leatherback sea turtle has been tracked on the longest confirmed ocean migration, 12,774 miles before the signal was lost. It was tracked by satellite as part of a project to learn more about the species' ocean movements. (News source.)

Sea Turtles Released

16 sea turtles that were rehabbed after a red tide incident were released at a Melbourne, FL, beach. (News source.)

Sea Turtle Smuggler in Court

A Chinese national pleaded guilty in US Federal Court to smuggling hawksbill sea turtle shells (and items made from the shells). (News source.)

Sea Turtle Deaths in 2007

The Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network notes that sea turtle deaths increased in some zones along the Florida coast in 2007, mostly due to red tide. (News source.)

Sea Turtle Stories

Australian researchers had previously moved several sea turtle nests further up the beach from the water, which appears to have saved them from recent king tides and swells that hit the beach. (News source.)

A documentary in the making focuses on 25 years in the life of a loggerhead sea turtle. (News source.)

Three people in Kenya died after eating the meat of an endangered sea turtle. (No mention of what tainted the meat.) (News source.)

Sea Turtle Conservation Pays Off

Conservation of sea turtle nesting sites is paying off, with notable increases in nesting numbers at four protected beach sites over the last few decades. (News source.)

Turtle Hospital

Sea World, in the Gold Coast, Australia, is taking care of a record number of injured sea turtles in its veterinary facility. (News source.)

Sea Turtle News

First, a profile on a eco-tourism sea turtle nesting site in Suriname.

Second, red tide is being blamed for the deaths of 14 juvenile green sea turtles this week. (News source.)

Sea Turtles Released

Two rehabilitated sea turtles were released today near Sarasota near the Mote Marine Laboratory. (News source.)

Misc Herp News

A South African man was charged with possession of a python, which he was using for healing purposes. (News source.)

The Iowa state director for political candidate Mike Huckabee is a snake enthusiast. (News source.)

Two American crocs have been confirmed in the Sans Soucí port region, Dominican Republic, concerning the locals. (News source.)

Here is a profile on a luxury resort in Oman with beaches used by nesting sea turtles.

Here is a profile on a gila monster that had to be x-rayed, and the steps taken to do so safely.

Fishermen Detained

19 Chinese fishermen have been detained since August for allegedly poaching sea turtles in Philippine waters. (News source.)

Mutilated Sea Turtle

A dead mutilated flatback turtle was found on a Western Australian beach. Police are investigating. (News source.)

Marianas Sea Turtle Arrest

A Micronesian man was arrested for possession of a green sea turtle. (News source.)

Sea Turtle Conservation

Two conservation groups are requesting that the loggerhead turtle be classified as an endangered species with USFWS. Currently, it is only classified as threatened. (News source.)

An overview of the USFWS' work with sea turtles can be found over at Mongabay.

Indonesia Sea Turtle Hatching Center

A sea turtle-hatching conservation center has been set up off Indonesia's Karimunjawa archipelago (north of Central Java), on the 56-hectare Menjangan Besar Island. Eggs are collected, hatched on the island, then released. (News source.)

Sea Turtle Mortality

It looks like there is an average of one adult sea turtle a day dying off the coast of Bahrain. (News source.)

FL County's First Leatherbacks

Walton County, FL, noted the first documented hatching of leatherback sea turtles on its beaches. (News source.)

Sea Turtle News

1200 baby sea turtles washed ashore on several Florida beaches, and are recovering at Volusia County's marine science center. (News source.)

A $1 million sea turtle rehabilitation facility has been proposed for Surf City, NC, to replace an older facility in need of expansion. (News source.)

Sea Turtle Conservation

A UC Santa Cruz grad student is working with fishermen in several countries to decrease bycatch of sea turtles. (News source.)

Sea Turtles

A sea turtle that had been treated at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center on Jekyll Island, becoming an ambassador for the facility, has died of complications. (News source.)

Also, 25 loggerheads were released at the Indian River Lagoon, Florida. Researchers are trying to get the word out to commercial fishermen that changing their types of hooks in certain areas could do much to help preserve sea turtles while still continuing with the fishing industry. (News source.)

Loggerhead Decline

A 5-year status report on endangered loggerhead sea turtles reaching the shore of North America shows that the species is starting to decline again, after a period of rising numbers. (News source.)

Sea Turtles

Over 100 million eggs are laid by sea turtles in five days at Ostional Beach in Santa Cruz. Photos at news source.

Sea Turtle Harvest Debate

More on the Fiji sea turtle banquet debate:

Communication breakdown blamed for turtle harvest

The turtle debate swims on

Green Sea Turtles Nest in Texas

A 300-lb green sea turtle was found nesting on South Padre Island, TX. This is the first time that species has been recorded on the island, and is one of three green sea turtles that nested on Texas soil this year. The eggs will be incubated in Corpus Christie due to weather concerns.(News source.)

Sea Turtle Meal

Fiji's Methodist Church is in trouble for using many more than the approved number of endangered sea turtles in their conference banquet. (News source.)

Texas Sea Turtle Nests

A record high number of Kemp's ridley sea turtle nests were found on Texas beaches this year: 128. (News source.)

Oregon Leatherback

A Pacific leatherback was sighted feeding off the coast of Oregon by four fishermen. (News source.)

Iceland Tourist

A loggerhead sea turtle surprised whale-watchers off the coast of Iceland. (News source.)