Smugglers & Poachers

Three people were arrested for trying to smuggle geckos out of New Zealand. (News source.)

Six people were arrested in South Africa for trading in leopard tortoises. (News source.)

Galapagos Tortoise Rediscovered in Captivity

Nine captive Galapagos Island tortoises are descendants of an "extinct" species from Floreana Island, according to new genetic research. (News source.)

Gopher Tortoise Poaching

Someone has killed and eaten at least 13 gopher tortoises in the Wabasso Scrub Conservation Area (Florida). (News source.)

Old Tortoise Dies

An old tortoise (Aldabra?) died at its French home. News reports say it was 146 years old.

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.)

Lonesome George Not So Lonesome

The famed Galapagos tortoise has apparently fathered 5 healthy eggs. (News source.)

Smugglers

Two suspected tortoise smugglers have been arrested in London. (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.)

Tortoise vs Mosquito

Galapagos tortoises and iguanas have to contend with mosquitoes that have developed a taste for reptilian blood, which may introduce new diseases. (News source.)

Herp Researchers

Biologists are mounting cameras on Galapagos tortoises to view their behavior. (News source.)

Biologists are studying the "jumping frogs of Calaveras County" to see why the leap so far. (News source.)

Herp Legal Matters

Three men in India were arrested for smuggling 55 tortoises. (News source.)

Texas herpers are trying to get road-hunting legislation passed. (News source.)

An Iowa town has slightly amended their "no constrictors" sales ban. (News source.)

Two pet snakes were confiscated from a home in Hawaii. (News source.)

More Malaysian Herp Smugglers

"Malaysian authorities seized 814 tortoises and 160 king cobras" that were being smuggled under a load of garlic. (News source.)

Border Patrol Agent Busted

A US Border Patrol Agent plead guilty smuggling to smuggling leopard tortoises. (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.)

Herp Crimes

A man tried to smuggle 44 lizards and snakes (including an albino carpet python) out of Australia. (News source.)

An Indian man was caught with over 100 smuggled tortoise skins. (News source.)

Gopher Tortoise Move

The Polk County, FL, school board has OK'd @$77K to move gopher tortoises off a proposed school construction site.

"'It's not so much the cost of removing them, but finding a place to relocate them,' Murphy noted. At the cost of around $900 per turtle, certified specialists must come to the land and relocate them to privately-owned sites that have been approved by the state." (News source.)

Turtle Issues

South Carolina is looking into legislation to protect the native turtle population from being shipped by the thousands overseas. (News source.)

A Pacific sea turtle database is being brought online. (News source.)

3000 tortoises were confiscated by Indian officials, when they were discovered being smuggled out of Uttar Pradesh. (News source.)

Customs officers at Atlanta's airport seized illegal (CITES) turtle meat and eggs from a passenger. Species not mentioned, but perhaps sea turtle? (News source.)

Herp Crimes

A couple of pet store thieves (took a ball python) have been caught. (News source.)

Ten rare tortoises were stolen from the Live Turtle and Tortoise Museum in Singapore. (News source.) Three men have been charged. (News source.)

And, a Louisiana man was arrested for stealing funds meant for a boy who lost an arm in an alligator attack. (News source.)

Tortoise Surgery

A 13-year old spur-thighed tortoise successfully underwent surgery for a bladder stone. (News source.)

Herp Crimes

Someone stole an albino timber rattler and an Ethiopian small-eyed viper from Victoria Reptiles in Florida. (News source.)

Four men in India were arrested for possession of 150 rare tortoises. (News source.)

Chelonian Conservation

A discussion here on the $$$ spent on conservation efforts for the desert tortoise in Utah.

Cambodian wildlife officials are trying to pay locals not to disturb the eggs of nesting Cantor's soft-shell turtles. (News source.)

Tortoises Reintroduced

123 c.b. Hood Island Galapagos tortoises were reintroduced to the island. (News source.)

"Oldest" Tortoise Might Be Mistake

A historian on St. Helena suggests that a recently named "oldest tortoise" might be a case of mistaken identity. (News source.)

OOP Tortoise on Maui Beach

A small African spur-thigh tortoise was found released on a Maui beach. Apparently, it's not illegal to keep nonnative tortoises in Hawaii, (unlike snakes/lizards), but police still want to know where it came from. (News source.)

Tortoise News

Here's a story of 12 tortoises that were caught in a fire, and the vets at UC Davis who worked on them.

Two Galapagos tortoises in Tahiti were given an 80-year anniversary celebration. (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.)

150-year old Tortoise Returned

A 150-yo desert tortoise, possibly stolen, has been rediscovered in its fenced-in yard. (News source.)

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.

Tortoise Crime

A British national was caught illegally possessing two tortoises in Cameroon. (News source.)

Turtle News

Indian star tortoises continue to be a prime target for smugglers. (News source.)

Politicians and scientists are arguing over the best plan for the eastern spiny soft-shell turtle in Lake Champlain. (News source.)

Problems with Prosecution

Prosecuting cases of gopher tortoise killings by developers in Florida can be frustrating. Details here.

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.)

Tortoise Editorial

One columnist's opinion on St. Lucie County (Florida) wanting to set up a gopher tortoise sanctuary.

Smugglers Intercepted

2 tons of live snakes and 770 kg of tortoises were intercepted in Vietnam before they could be taken into China. (News source.)

Another Symbol for Florida

Keep in mind Florida already has a state reptile (the alligator) and recently made the loggerhead the state saltwater reptile; now a Senator has passed classroom-based legislation making the gopher tortoise a state symbol -- the state tortoise. (News source.)

Thai Smuggling

Two wildlife smugglers were caught in Thailand trying to ship out over 1,000 snakes and tortoises to China, Taiwan, and Vietnam. (News source.)

Chelonian News

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

16 sea turtles were rehabilitated and released here.

Galapagos: New Threat

An active volcano on Isabela Island is threatening giant tortoises on that area. (News source.)

Tortoise Smugglers Caught

Five tortoise smugglers were captured in a police raid in Uttar Pradesh, India. (News source.)

Kids Kill Tortoises

South African police caught 4 children who killed several leopard tortoises, and made them bury the reptiles. (News source.)

Black Market Tortoises

Here is an article on a black market in Bangkok with very rare tortoises.

Desert Tortoises Killed

23 relocated desert tortoises have been killed by coyotes after being displaced from the Ft. Irwin expansion area. (News source.)

Herp Crimes

The UK mastermind of an illegal tortoise smuggling ring has been charged. (News source.)

A couple of snakes were stolen from Flamingo Gardens in Florida. (News source.)

A woman who stole a young boa constrictor from a Michigan pet shop has returned the snake. (News source.)

Desert Evac

Desert tortoises are being evacuated and relocated from land that will be used in expansion of Fort Irwin. (News source.)

Ravens vs Desert Tortoises

Federal wildlife officers plan to kill any ravens caught preying on desert tortoises in the California desert, along with using other methods to make the area uninviting for the birds. (News source.)

Tortoise Breeds

A 70 year old Galapagos tortoise at the Zurich Zoo had a baby hatch out. (News source.)

Tortoise Smuggling

A crate of 9 tortoises were confiscated in Israel, apparently having been smuggled in (possibly just a waystop on their way elsewhere). (News source.)

Tortoises Confiscated

A Czech man attempted to sell young Hermann's tortoises online without the proper permits, and a court recently confiscated his colony. (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.)

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.)

Smugglers and Poachers

Pakistani wildlife officers found a partially skinned crocodile (protected) along a road in DHA. It was uncertain whether the reptile had been hunted in the wild or stolen from a breeding center. (News source.)

Two tortoise smugglers were shot and killed, three others got away, in an encounter with police in India. (News source.)

Madagascar Tortoise Smuggling

Here's a BBC News article on the capture of a Nigerian smuggler who was found with 300 tortoises from Madagascar, and a general review of the problem.

Tortoise Surgery

Veterinarians at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine performed front leg surgery on a yellow-foot tortoise. Specific details are vague (they removed a piece of the humerus?) but apparently it was the first time this particular surgery was done on a tortoise. (News source.)

Smuggler Indicted

A Chico, CA, man and an unknown conspirator in Singapore have been indicted in federal court for trafficking in smuggled tortoises. (News source.)

Tortoise Smuggling

657 star tortoises were discovered being smuggled through Chennai airport. (News source.)

Tortoise Product Smugglers

Punjab, Pakistan, wildlife officials confiscated 26 cartons of smuggled tortoise meat and 5 bags of shells. (News source.)

Gopher Tortoise Crime

Two Indiantown, FL, men were caught trespassing on private land and injuring a gopher tortoise. (News source.)

Reptile Fossils from Blue Hole

Excavations in a Bahamian blue hole (a water-filled sinkhole) have come up with fossils of a terrestrial crocodilian, a large tortoise, and several other creatures that became extinct after the islands became inhabited. (News source.)

Smuggled Reptiles

6 Bangledeshi nationals were arrested for possession (on the wrong side of the India border, it looks like) of 10 endangered reptiles: king cobras and elongated tortoises. (News source.)

Tortoise Move

A number of gopher tortoises in Brevard County (FL) are being relocated to Pasco County due to developing Rhodes Park into soccer fields. Costs are running up to $162,000 for the project. (News source.)

Tortoise Research

An interesting article on Galapagos tortoises here.

Tortoise Preserve

73 acres with gopher tortoises in Lutz, FL, may be turned into a conservation preserve. (News source.)

Turtles Tip

Some researchers have been looking into how turtles are able to right themselves after being tipped. (Nature article.)

Tortoise Smuggler

A Tampa, FL, pet shop owner pleaded guilty to charges in a smuggling racket involving Burmese and Indian star tortoises. (News source.)

Tortoise Snack

Here's a news site, with video showing a leopard tortoise eating hyena dung to aid in digestion. (News source.)

Smuggler Pleads Guilty

A Southern California man is pleading guilty to smuggling rare Asian chelonians into the country. (News source)

Tortoise Hatching

The Living Desert Zoo & Gardens State Park in Carlsbad, NM, has hatched out some Bolson's tortoises, an endangered North American species. (News source.)

Tortoise on the Run

A large Sulcata tortoise escaped from its pen at a Missouri pet shop and is missing. A reward has been posted. (News source.)

Sulcata Found

Joyce the Sulcata tortoise was found by a young driver near the Great Dismal Swamp, who took her home. The family identified her as an African tortoise, and then was alerted to the news coverage of the lost chelonian. Joyce was promptly reunited with her owner. (News source.)

Sulcata Lost

Joyce, the African sulcata tortoise, dug out of her fenced backyard in Virginia and wandered off. Someone, not recognizing that Joyce wasn't a native species, picked her off the road in an effort to save her and took her to the Great Dismal Swamp. Joyce's owner has been visiting the swamp to try and retrieve the tortoise. (News source.)

Galapagos Tortoise Poaching

Eight shells have been found by Galapagos Island rangers, who believe the tortoises were slaughtered by poachers for meat. Five were young tortoises up to 15 years of age, some of which spent the first several years being reared in captivity. (News source.)

Smuggled Star Tortoises

Malaysia has a loophole in its wildlife laws, apparently, which allows star tortoises, smuggled in from India, to be sold in pet stores. The stores claim they are captive-bred; this is disputed by wildlife officials, but without proof they can't confiscate. (News source.)

Problems for Lonesome George

While a genetic survey is being attempted to locate a possible mate for the only remaining Pinta Island Galapagos tortoise, it may be moot. Some keepers and biologists note that Lonesome George has not shown much interest in mating in the past, and may not know how. (News source.)

Tortoise Smuggling

A shipment of "clay pots" from Tanzania to Malaysia turned out to be 76 baby leopard tortoises. The smuggled reptiles have been confiscated and are awaiting probable return to Africa. (News source.)

Army Moving Tortoises

The U. S. Army is expanding the National Training Center Ft. Irwin, in the Mojave Desert, so is moving an estimated 700 to 1,000 endangered desert tortoises. It has awarded a 5-year, $6.9 million contract to ITS Corp. to track down, relocate, and monitor the tortoises. (News source.)

Oldest Gopher Tortoise

Gus the gopher tortoise turns 85 this year. There will be a birthday party at his home, the Museum of Natural History in Halifax. (News source.)

Turkish Tortoise Smuggling

Turkish police caught a foreign citizen attempting to smuggle 8 endangered tortoises (species unnamed) out of the country. (News source.)

Gopher Tortoises

Developers of a mall in Florida are planning to move gopher tortoises out of the way, while a group of mall opponents is fighting the move. (News source.)

Smuggled Tortoises Intercepted

India's Border Security Force intercepted a group of elongated tortoises being smuggled from Bangladesh into India. They were found in a sack hanging under a bridge. (News source.)