Every year on May 23, World Turtle Day is celebrated to spread awareness among humans to help turtles survive and thrive in their natural habitat. This day aims to raise knowledge about turtles and tortoises. This special day was founded in the year 1990 by the American Tortoise Rescue to help people celebrate and protect turtles and their disappearing habitat around the globe. Healthy oceans need sea turtles. Sea turtles are a “keystone species”, which means they are an important part of their environment and influence other species around them. If a keystone species is removed from a habitat, the natural order can be disrupted, which impacts other wildlife and fauna in different ways.
The purpose of World Turtle Day, May 23, sponsored yearly since 2000 by American Tortoise Rescue, is to bring attention to, and increase knowledge of and respect for, turtles and tortoises, and encourage human action to help them survive and thrive. World Turtle Day is among the most effective of species awareness days in increasing the search for information on turtles online.
With between 48 and 54% of all 328 species considered threatened, turtles are at a much higher risk of extinction than many other vertebrates. Of the 263 species of freshwater and terrestrial turtles, 117 species are considered threatened, 73 are either endangered or critically endangered, and 1 is extinct.
Of the 58 species in the family Testudinidae, 33 are threatened, 18 are either endangered or critically endangered, 1 is extinct in the wild, and 7 are extinct. 71% of all tortoise species are either gone or almost gone.
Asian species are the most endangered, closely followed by the five endemic species of Madagascar. Turtles face many threats, including habitat destruction, harvesting for consumption, the pet trade, light pollution, and climate change.
The high extinction risk for Asian species is primarily due to their long-term unsustainable exploitation for consumption and traditional Chinese medicine, and to a lesser extent for the international pet trade. Turtle extinction is progressing much faster than during the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction; at the current rate, all turtles could be extinct in less than a century.
Turtles are reptiles of the order Chelonia or Testudines. They are characterized by a bony or cartilaginous shell or carapace, developed from their ribs, that acts as a shield. Testudines include both extant (living) and extinct species.
As we all know, Turtle is the oldest reptile, but not many know that its origin dates back to nearly 200 million years back, which is during the time of Dinosaurs. Its earliest known members date from the Middle Jurassic. They are one of the oldest reptile groups, more ancient than snakes or crocodilians.
People believe that the shell of the turtle is an exoskeleton. However, it is actually their ribcage and spine. The shell is made of around 50 bones and grows with the age, just like a human skeleton.
People believe turtle is the calmest species, although they are not. They are as loud as cats or dogs, and the range of their noise can be anything from dog-like barking to chicken like clucks depending on their species.
Not many know, turtles have two shells, one that is visible on top, called the carapace and the other below the body of a turtle. The lower shell is known as a plastron, which joins the upper shell along both sides of the body creating a skeletal box.
There are a total of 300 species of turtles across the globe, out of which 129 species are endangered because of human interruptions. They come in all shapes and sizes, the bog turtle can be as small as 4-inches, while the leathery turtle can weigh over 1000 pounds.
The largest sea turtle, the leatherback turtle, weigh more than 1000 pounds and can grow up to 8 feet in length.
Like other amniotes, turtles breathe air and do not lay eggs underwater, although many species live in or around water. Turtles don’t nurture their babies, rather they leave them alone after laying their eggs. The babies make their own way to the sea after hatching.
Interestingly, Female turtles can store sperm in their bodies for up to four years after mating.
Turtles are rapidly disappearing around the world because of smuggling, habitat destruction, climate change, cruel pet trade, among others. Education is important in every country so that these gentle animals can be treasured.
Some of the turtle species are also comes under the endangered species of turtles in India, like Assam roofed turtle and Indian star tortoise are one of the most trafficked animals in the world and part of the exotic pet trade. Let us see some turtles from India in need to conserve through our photolist:
Hope you like the incredible varieties of turtles found in India. Now stand and join us to fight for them. Once lord Kurma stand for us to give the world its share of love and now its our time to help his descendants to survive on this planet.
Sea turtles around the world are endangered or threatened but there are many ways that anyone can help! Here are a few ways you can support conservation of wild sea turtles around the world:
- Don’t buy souvenirs or other items made from critically endangered hawksbill shell. Reduce your carbon footprint!
- Climate change affects the health of coral reefs which are vital to the hawksbills survival. A warming planet also skews sex ratios in baby turtles, changes the abundance and distribution of prey, increases erosion of nesting beaches, and more. You can advocate for businesses and governments to reduce their emissions and reduce your own as well.
- Avoid buying seafood or choose responsibly caught seafood. Sea turtles are vulnerable to commercial fishing methods like trawling, longlines, and drift gillnets, becoming unwanted catch (also known as “bycatch”) that is discarded like trash.
- Just say NO to plastics! Sea turtles and other ocean life mistake plastic as food and ingest it. An estimated that more than 100 million marine animals die each year as a result of eating or getting entangled in plastic.
- Leave No Trace. This means practicing good housekeeping when visiting a beach where turtles nest. Remove your trash (and trash left by others) and any obstacles that may become hazards for nesting sea turtles and hatchlings like beach furniture, holes, and sandcastles.
- Join a sea turtle conservation tour! Witnessing a sea turtle nesting or baby turtles erupting from a nest is pure magic.
- Turtles dig the dark! Sea turtles need dark beaches for nesting and for navigating their way to the ocean. Light from beachfront development can deter females from coming ashore to nest as well as lead newly born hatchling away from the water and towards danger.
- Hang onto those balloons! Helium balloons can travel long distances, get caught in electric lines, and hurt animals like birds and sea turtles, which similarly to plastic bags can be mistaken for jellyfish.
- Choose sunscreen carefully. Chemicals in some types of sunscreen can damage coral reefs and pollute turtle habitat. Avoid any sunscreen with “oxybenzone” and look for brands labelled as “Reef Friendly” and avoid sprays that can pollute the sand where turtles nest.
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