World turtle day

Young Bites. Dated: 5/23/2018 1:47:36 PM


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.May 23 is the day to celebrate turtles – both freshwater and marine species – and tortoises, raise awareness about the endangered species and encourage action to be taken to preserve them.World Turtle Day is celebrated around the globe in a variety of ways, from dressing up as turtles or wearing green summer dresses, to saving turtles caught on highways, to research activities. Turtle Day lesson plans and craft projects encourage teaching about turtles in classrooms.The term “WORLD TURTLE DAY” is trademarked by Susan Tellem of Malibu which is certified by state and federal agencies as a nonprofit corporation to provide the protection to all species of tortoise and turtle. Foundlings that cannot be adopted because of ill health remain in the care of American Tortoise Rescue for the remainder of their lives.The day was created as an annual observance to help people celebrate and protect turtles and tortoises and their disappearing habitats around the world. ATR has placed about 3,000 tortoises and turtles in caring homes. ATR assists law enforcement when undersize or endangered turtles are confiscated and provides helpful information and referrals to persons with sick, neglected or abandoned turtles.Lesson plans were provided by the Turtle and Tortoise Preservation Group (TTPG), an organization that is open to all people interested in the welfare of chelonians.. Individuals that maintain captive collections have a great responsibility to ensure their chelonians are properly cared for and maintained. We hear in them about parables of being slow and plodding, steady and methodical, and occasionally obsessed when we, talk about Turtles! Turtles are a type of reptile that exists in many environments through the word and have found their way into literature, poetry, and parable throughout the world’s history. World Turtle Day celebrates these noble reptiles and their place in the world, and encourages people to take action to help protect both the common pet turtle, and the ever endangered sea turtle. Well the first thing to know is that Turtles and Tortoises are not the same thing, though this day is dedicated to celebrating and protecting both. World Turtle day recognizes that some species of our hard (and soft!) shelled friends are suffering, almost on the edge of extinction due to environmental hazards and issues with hunting and harvesting of their eggs.Due to this critical status, it is feared that many species are likely to become extinct within the next few years unless swifter action is taken to address the transnational and ongoing nature of this illegal trade. More needs to be done to combat illegal activity occurring within source, transit and destination countries, where wildlife laws are sometimes poorly enforced. Fortunately, some organizations help enforce those laws and recent arrests have been made with their help, in Malaysia notably. A recent successful coordinated operation between the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau of India, Malaysia’s Wildlife Department (Perhilitan) and the Wildlife Justice Commission resulted in the arrest of an Indian national in Kuala Lumpur and the rescue of 55 live turtles of various species.We all have to do something that drives us in this life, and for these too it was bonding over animal right’s activist work. Don’t think these two are just closet hippies with an overwhelming adoration for all things shelled and scaly.Susan is deeply involved in it and organized charity collections and works around the world to help protect these amazing critters, and created Turtle Day to get everyone involved and spread awareness of the shrinking habitat and declining numbers of these sensitive creatures.Well first off, contact American Tortoise Rescue and find out what you can do in your area to help promote the protection of turtles. If there’s no activities in your area, work with them to find out what you can do to coordinate with local aquariums, pet stores, and nature groups to focus on the species of this reptile that live in your area. We take a look at various threats faced by the reptiles in India and the initiatives taken to save the animal.One of the greatest threats facing turtles and tortoises in India is smuggling to East Asian and Southeast Asian markets. Many freshwater turtles and tortoises are considered delicacies just across the Bay of Bengal in Southeast Asia.This has led to the creation of massive smuggling rings on the east coast of India that send live turtles to those countries. Some of these turtles are also smuggled to be kept as pets. In 2016 alone, 30,000 live turtles were confiscated from smugglers by the Indian government. In addition to live specimens, thousands of sea turtle eggs are dug up and sold as delicacies in Southeast Asian countries.West Bengal has become a focal point of the turtle smuggling trade as many of the turtles make their way to Kolkata before being shipped off. The Indian government has worked hard to prevent smuggling through screening of shipments, confiscation, and arresting smugglers, but turtle smuggling is still a lucrative business in India.In addition to smuggling, turtles face a variety of man-made issues that threaten their existence. One major threat, as with all other animal species, is habitat destruction. The Ganges and other major rivers of India sustain turtle life. As these rivers become more and more polluted, the turtles are beginning to die off at greater rates. The hatchlings are born deformed; adults are dying from eating plastic; and the food sources are disappearing.Sea turtles are also suffering as seas and beaches are becoming polluted. Discarded plastic, toxic to sea turtles, often gets ingested. Many sea turtle hatchlings get caught in trash on the beach and are eaten by predators. Large fishing trawlers also sometimes catch sea turtles, cut off their flippers to get them out of the net, and then leave them to die. These issues must be dealt with to ensure these magnificent animals continue to have a future.On a more positive note, there is also a lot of work done for the conservation of turtles in India. One well known and effective venture has focussed on the protection of Olive Ridley sea turtles on the coasts of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. The “turtle walks” involve many local people who carefully dig up the nests along the beaches and take the eggs to a protected spot to make sure the eggs are not stolen or eaten.When the eggs hatch, volunteers move the hatchlings to the sea so they are not killed crossing the beach. Other conservation efforts include the creation of protected areas on the Ganges where endangered river turtles are kept secluded from the greater environment in order to protect them from smugglers and monitor their breeding. Many of the turtles confiscated from smugglers also often go into rehabilitation and then captive breeding programs to help create a stable captive population of the rare turtle species of India.

 

Face to Face

Face To Face With Atul Kumar Goel (IPS) DIG, Jammu-Samba-Kathua Range J&K... Read More
 

FACEBOOK

 

Twitter

 
 

Daily horoscope

 

Weather