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.)