A great week for these sea turtles!  Happy tails! 

(source: WPTV West Palm Beach )

BOCA RATON, Fla. – More than 600 sea turtles were released Monday back into the Atlantic Ocean during the joint effort between the Coast Guard and the Gumbo-Limbo Nature Center.

In total, 637 sea turtles were released, which included 624 Loggerhead sea turtle hatchlings, nine green sea turtles, three rehabilitated Loggerhead post-hatchling sea turtles and one Hawksbill post-hatching sea turtle.

In addition, four turtles between the ages of 6 months and one year will be released back into the wild following rehabilitation at the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center.

alexstateofmind:

July 28th, 2015

Today I learned so much about the rehabilitation of sea turtles and ways that I can help to keep them safe in their homes. It’s so sad to see them chased out of their natural homes & hurt by our carelessness. It was eye opening to see how even letting balloons fly off in the air can be detrimental to so many animals, especially sea turtles who mistake them for yummy jellyfish. I’m glad I had the opportunity to meet so many people who have dedicated their lives to making the oceans a lot safer for sea creatures and care enough to help the sea turtles return back home.

-Alex

The incredible work of the sea turtle rescue and rehab facilities world wide. Respect and support!

PLEASE DO NOT CATCH WILD TURTLES AND KEEP THEM AS PETS

fortheloveofbettas:

I live in Michigan and I just had to have this conversation with a friend after he brought home 2 young painted turtles and posted it on Facebook.

Turtle populations are already in decline, and taking them from the wild means the won’t be breeding with other turtles. People taking them are hurting their chances. And you might think taking one doesn’t hurt, but if everybody took one there would be none left. Please, please, PLEASE, go to a breeder and purchase one. Don’t catch wild ones. Let them live happily with their families, and breed so that we don’t lose this beautiful creatures.

Also, if you see one in the road, pull over, pick it up GENTLY, and place it on the side of the street it was facing. don’t bring it elsewhere, don’t put it back, keep it going where it was heading. It is probably heading it’s breeding ground, and displacing it will cause it not to breed.

Lastly,@ turtles are not short time commitments. they are 30+ year pets that need certain requirements and that costs money. yes, turtles are cool, but make sure you can take care of one. Do your research, have the set up ahead of time, and make sure you’re stable.

Says it all. They’re made for the wild not our homes. Enjoy them from afar, help them stay alive, and adopt!

tortoise-adventures:

Important Information for Tortoise Owners!

“Last week I had a tortoise come my way that was having regular immobilising spasms. The mature female Ibera was contorted and paralysed for periods of time and it was quite horrific to watch and made myself and her owner feel helpless beyond words. All I could do was tube fluids into her in the hope that if a poisoning case, the toxins could be flushed out of her system. To cut the next 24 hrs short, it developed that she had ingested a few fallen azalea petals the previous evening. This meant that by the following tea time, on return from work her owner discovered her in her contorted form and so the toxins were well and truly into her blood stream. I am pleased to say that with continued fluids through the night, both tubed into mouth and subcutaneously, that by the following lunchtime she was once again feeding and basking. Note Azaleas and tortoises do not belong in the same garden!!

The above photo is the tortoise post trauma” – 

Permission to share granted by Donna

Please share and make sure everyone is aware – Azaleas and tortoises do not mix!! Just a few petals is all it takes.

A very important post by the fantastic @tortoise-adventures. SAFETY FIRST.

turtleconservancy:

If you’re spending time outside this weekend in the North East make sure to keep an eye out for Wood Turtles (Glyptemys insculpta)! Wood Turtles are a beautiful and charismatic species classified as Endangered by the IUCN. They have suffered greatly from habitat loss and degradation, as well as collection for the illegal pet trade. When encountering a wild turtle it is best to leave them alone and allow them to get to their destination safely. Happy Friday!

emmulah:

And this is why you babysit your tortie when you go outside. 

Yes! This is exactly why. Look how quick something not so good got in Pistachio’s mouth? I can’t tell you how many moments I’ve had just like this.. “NO! what are you doing? there are dandelions right there.. don’t eat that.. ” *runs over* haha this is trouble in the less than cute way. 

wolfeyluvr:

I see tortoises all the time but this was at park near my house instead of the urban research area. A huge difference struck me today- where are the burrows? I couldn’t find one.

I grew to appreciate how densily populated our research area is. See they live in a residential area where development hit a hault a couple years ago. So… ¼ of the lots in the area are abandoned while the rest have houses on them. The tortoises are abundant, I mean they’re kinda everywhere. But it’s certianly not natural eh? They’re living on top of each other basically. Its over crowded. How long will they last? They look like they’re thriving right? Yet this is an animal that lives 60 years and doesnt reach reproduction age till 10 years. So thats the motivation behind our work really. Are they doing alright?

An incredibly thoughtful post. It’s true and hurts the heart to think that they are dwindling in any way and how many ways their lives as (as a species) have changed even while so many think “oh well I see a bunch so they’re fine”. I imagine it hurts to be one of the 300 creatures that their burrows provide shelter for as well.