I volunteered with CI in Cambodia working to protect Pelochelys cantorii. and I continue to raise funds for the nest protection program. What do you see as a longterm solution to the wildlife trade issue for Asian turtles?
-Trudy from Canada
The challenges seem overwhelming at times, particularly in Asia, but as we work to achieve better standards of living for rural people, the need to exploit wild animals and plants for subsistence and income should reduce. Combined with increased awareness of the ecosystem and cultural importance of plants, animals and landscape, and with effective enforcement where necessary, people will hopefully be able to make a conscious choice to save and protect their natural surroundings. This is what has happened in North America, Europe and many other places over the past century, and there is every reason that it can and will also happen throughout Asia.
What makes turtles come out of the river to walk out into the road? Do they really know where it is they want to go, and how do they know this? Do they have a radar or something in their head?
-Teckla from the United States
Freshwater turtles wander onto land for different reasons, including females looking for a suitable place to dig a nest for their eggs, males moving about to look for females, or animals just moving to a different pond because the pond they've recently been living in is drying out or no longer a good place to reside for other reasons.
We don't quite know the whole story of how freshwater turtles navigate. We do know that many turtle species can see polarized light, and use that to see the signature reflections in the sky of waterbodies on the horizon. Many turtles probably have a mental map and memories of good places, including good hibernation, feeding and nesting sites of previous years. Sea turtles have tiny magnetized particles in their brains that help them navigate with reference to the Earth's magnetic field, and such magnetic-field navigation could well occur in some freshwater turtles too.
Are the four known remaining Red River Giant Softshell Turtles [Rafetus swinhoei] still capable of breeding? Can you tell me what is being done to help preserve them or is extinction certain?
-Vanessa from the United Kingdom
Well, Peter Paul, do you know of any updates on the Rafetus project in Suzhou? I've been coming back to the TSA website but they have not been updating on this subject (or I may have missed it). Best wishes from this side of the Atlantic!
-Job via Facebook
LEARN MORE: Red River Giant Softshell Turtles (Rafetus swinhoei)Of the four known animals, the male and female who were in captivity in China for decades at separate locations were brought together 3 years ago in the Suzhou zoo. They have bred and the female produced several clutches of eggs each year, but while there was some initial development, the embryos all died during incubation. It is not quite clear if this is a result of inadequate diet, reproductive senility, or some other problem; Dr. Gerald Kuchling, the world's foremost expert on turtle reproductive, has worked with these animals throughout this time, and we still have hope that they will produce healthy hatchlings in the not too distant future. More details on these efforts can be found at
http://www.turtlesurvival.org/component/taxonomy/term/summary/95/37 The other two animals live in separate lakes in northern Viet Nam, and we do not know with certainty if they are a male and female. Males do not tolerate each other; bringing two males together would likely result in one of them being killed by the other. Even if they are a confirmed pair, bringing them together involves great challenges. The animal in Hoan Kiem lake in downtown Hanoi is a symbol of Viet Nam's independence; moving the animal out to the other lake is simply unacceptable. Moving the other animal into Hoan Kiem is a great logistic challenge, politically perhaps possible, but then runs into the problem that Hoan Kiem lake is severely polluted, does not have an adequate nesting site, and is not secure from harassment and injury of the turtles by humans. Moving animals from Viet Nam to China or vice versa – that becomes largely a political decision on top of the enormous challenges to transport such a large animal safely and without injury or severe stress.
There is hope that somewhere in northern Viet Nam or southern Yunnan, one or more animals still survive, undetected. Survey teams continue to look for more animals, and there remains hope that animals may survive, or be brought, together to perpetuate the species.
What are the biggest obstacles stopping Scientists and Conservation Groups from farming the most endangered turtles? Is it a matter of funding or do turtles not breed well in captivity? Thanks!
-Cara from the United States
Conservation breeding of some of the most threatened turtle species is happening, with great success for some (e.g. Annam Pond Turtle) and less success for others (e.g.
Red River Giant Softshell Turtle); challenges include fine-tuning husbandry conditions, like getting enclosure design, diet, seasonal rhythms, genetic pairing, etc. just right. If a species breeds well in captivity, the next challenge is to ensure that there is safe habitat for the animals to be returned to – this is often the bottleneck, and while expertise and funding can help, it also involves a large component of local community engagement, awareness, and policy work.
Commercial interests already farm vast quantities of turtles, for both the pet and consumption trades. This can help alleviate exploitation pressure on wild populations, but can also lead to increased demand for authentic wild turtles, and the net conservation value of commercial farming remains a topic of debate.
I am a junior at an undergrad college but plan to study herpetology in grad school. I hope to one day help with the conservation of endangered turtles. I was wondering what graduate programs you experts went to and if I should look into them.
-John from the United States
Many people involved in turtle conservation have graduate degrees in zoology, but there are also trained ecologists, zoo professionals, paleontologists, and others with degrees you would never have guessed, like medicine, political science or business administration. A background in biological sciences is helpful, but conservation is as much about dealing with people as it is about dealing with animals. In the end, your interest, creativity, optimism, dedication and perseverance are probably more important than the actual program that you graduated from.
We have 30-acres with in NH with a large brook through the middle and approx. 10-acres of it is wetland. Someone saw a large turtle crossing the road near our house. Is there anyway we can turn some of our property into a protected refuge?
-Laura from the United States
What do freshwater turtles eat?
-Basti from Great Britain
The diet of freshwater turtles varies by species, and even individual turtles can have specific preferences. There are species that are almost or completely vegetarian, feeding on aquatic or bankside plants and fallen fruits; there are fish-eating specialists, species feeding mostly on snails and clams, and species consuming mainly aquatic insects and other small invertebrates, to name but a few. Many turtles are completely opportunistic, eating animal prey or scavenging dead animals when they have an opportunity, but also taking fruits and plants to eat their fill.
In 2009 thru-out N. range of bog turtle there was a die off caused by a disease agent forming veil of slime "over the head & neck & often forelegs. Infection began in nostrils & spread. What do you know about it?
-Bill from the United States
Not enough – veterinary colleagues are working on identifying the disease agent and figure out its transmission, but so far no clear results appear to have been reported. I have not heard of a recurrence this year, but remain very concerned.
How can I get my students involved in helping turtles? Are there any websites, where they can learn anything?
-Jessica from the United States
To learn about turtles in general, there are great books as well as resources on the web, including resources tailored to different ages – though most are fairly grown-up. Good websites include
but there are many more. State Fish and Wildlife agency websites often have information on your local turtles and other wildlife.
There are often great volunteer opportunities with local wildlife projects, ranging from helping wildlife cross roads during breeding season to assisting with wetland and other habitat restoration efforts. Local Fish and Wildlife authorities, local chapters of The Nature Conservancy, and many other organizations offer such volunteer opportunities.
Are most of Chinas turtles now farmed? Very few Showed up as hunted in a Vietnam survey.
-David from the United States
With wild turtle populations in East and southeast Asia largely depleted, the great majority of turtles traded in China now originate from farms. The data are not complete, but I would estimate that well over 90 percent of turtle trade in China is farm-based. But given the size of the overall trade, the trade in wild-collected turtles is still a quite significant source of concern for the wild populations of Indonesia, Myanmar, Cambodia, the United States and elsewhere.
[Regarding] Asian Giant Softshell Turtles - How many hours a day do they spend buried in sand
- How many times a day do they surfarce for air?
- Why don't Aquariums breed them?
-Anne from the United States
Asian Giant Softshell Turtles may remain buried in a nice comfortable site for days at a time, emerging from the sand at night to go wandering. They often bury themselves in spots close to the riverbank and shallow enough that they can reach the surface to breathe just by stretching their neck; they can also absorb oxygen from the water, through the insides of their mouth and throat and perhaps other skin surfaces. By not being warm-blooded, and by not being very active, they use very little oxygen, and resting animals breathe once every 5 to 30 minutes or at even longer intervals.
These turtles are, indeed, giant-sized (by turtle standards), and a proper enclosure for an adult with 36" shell length would take the space of a modest swimming pool at least. These animals do not like being together – they will bite, scratch and otherwise damage each other, so they need to be kept isolated in captivity, or in an enormous enclosure where they have enough space to keep out of each other's way. A breeding group quickly takes up enough space to fill up a large barn. Few, if any, zoos have the opportunity to provide so much space, and heat so much water to tropical temperatures year-round, for a species that will show itself to zoo visitors for only a few moments per hour.
Is CI involved in conservation program with Philippines organization on conservation of endangered turtles and tortoises habitat along the coast of Batangas?
-Oscar from the Philippines
I am not aware that CI is engaged in conservation of freshwater turtles and their habitat in the Batangas region, but it's always worth checking with our
Philippines program for the most recent information. You can also learn more from
CI's global offices.
What is the main cause of turtle and tortoise demise in the world today besides human actions that threaten their habitat?
-Paul from the United States
Tortoise and freshwater turtle populations and species are under impact from habitat degradation and loss, from direct collection for pets, consumption, or traditional medicine, from the impacts of introduced invasive or subsidized native species eating turtles, turtle eggs, or affecting their habitat, and from accidental death when crossing roads, entanglement and drowning in fishing nets, or being hit by boat propellers or agricultural machinery. Finally there's
climate change, which is likely to affect turtle habitat as well as turtle population structure because changing temperature patterns during egg incubation can change the proportions of male and female hatchlings being produced – in most turtle species, if eggs are incubated at relatively high temperatures they produce female hatchlings, while eggs incubated in cooler conditions yield males.
Is there a way we can push these countries where the turtles are living to create an National Park, like the US has, that would protect these turtle species and prosecute anyone who hunts them down?
-Kathy from the United States
Nearly all countries world-wide have designated National Parks to protect native plants, animals, landscapes and ecosystem services. Funding and other resources for adequate management and enforcement of these protected areas is often scarce, though, while the pressures from nearby communities who often still depend on natural resources for food, building materials and income, are usually much greater than in the US. Some countries have made great improvements in recent years – Madagascar has tripled the combined area of its protected areas over the past 8 years, and Conservation International and partners will push at next month's meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity for all countries to designate at least 15 percent of their land surface as protected areas.
Would CI be willing and able to mount a project to help preserve turtles in the Xingu, Mato Grosso, working with indigenous leaders?
-Sandra from Brazil
The challenges in the Xingú region are at the landscape scale, and projects addressing such broad issues are addressed by
CI's Brazil program with integrated involvement of our
Indigenous and Traditional Peoples' Program; where feasible and appropriate the Tortoise & Freshwater Turtle Conservation Program will be happy to contribute turtle-specific support.
A small, what I think is a slider water turtle has adopted our back porch. It has been with us for 2 weeks now. It is about 1.5" across. What kind of food should we make available for it.
-Craig from the United States
The first step is to identify the animal with certainty, because what would be suitable food for a young slider would not necessarily be appropriate for a small cooter or box turtle. There is a good species gallery of photographs, and a series of good care-sheets, on the website of the
World Chelonian Trust, which will probably help you identify the animal and find out how to care for it. If it's a wild animal, though, it will be perfectly able to take care of itself, and putting out food for it is likely to attract raccoons that may in turn harm the little turtle nearby.
I have a turtle that I rescued. He was missing part of his leg and a piece of his shell. He is now completely recovered and twice the size. Can he be released back in to the wild after having him for 2 years?
-Genevieve from the United States
If the animal was born in the wild and spent months or years growing up in the wild, then he’s a survivor and all the survival skills will still be with him to find food, shelter, moisture and more. There are no guarantees of survival, not for wild animals and not for released rehabilitated animals, but this animal's chances sound pretty good.
What should Californians do with red eared sliders in W. pond turtle habitat?
-Richard from the United States
I would first of all check with the
California Department of Fish and Game for their regulations and recommendations. I would recommend capturing non-native Red-eared Sliders where possible and move them to an approved captive facility or other appropriate destination. This could directly or indirectly affect the Western Pond Turtles if you do anything more than hand-grabbing a slider, which brings you into the domain of regulations protecting western pond turtles and their habitat, and back to the need to check with CA DFG.
How many turtle species have been identified? How many of those are known to bite humans???
-Marian from the United States
Not all turtle experts agree about what is a valid species, but right now about 334 living species of tortoises, freshwater and marine turtles world-wide are generally recognized. These are 7 marine turtle species, about 51 species of tortoises, and some 276 species of freshwater turtles.
Many turtle species will bite humans if they are harassed by humans and the human puts a finger or other limb near the turtle's mouth (I would bite too in such a situation). The number of turtles that would bite a human without provocation, like biting a swimmer or person walking in shallow water, is minimal – maybe a large softshell turtle or maybe, maybe a snapping turtle or alligator snapping turtle. I am aware of one or two cases of people getting bitten, unprovoked, by large softshells in Asia, but it's not a risk that anyone should worry about if they don't handle or severely harass a turtle.
How can I help to save these turtles or turtle by staying in India?
-Amar from India
India's turtles can be helped by protecting their habitat, preventing pollution, not buying them as pets, reporting illegal trade, and creating awareness of their ecological and cultural significance. Tell your friends, family and colleagues about turtles and their survival challenges. There is a strong and dynamic freshwater turtle conservation team working as part of the Center for Herpetology, based at the Madras Crocodile Bank and with support from the Turtle Survival Alliance and others; their
activities and recommendations are available online. What is the social organization of turtles? Do they live in clans, families?
-Christine from the United States
As we traditionally understand it, most turtles have no family life. Females bury their eggs in a good site and that's it – the hatchlings have to emerge from the nest by themselves and find food, shelter and avoid predators without any assistance. Turtles often congregate in certain areas, where optimal food, basking sites or other desirable aspects of the environment exist, and are often very tolerant of each other, clambering on top of each other for prime basking spots. Turtles also take note of what others do – often, as soon as one turtle plops into the water, others follow, just in case the first one dove in because it spotted a predator. Turtles often work on the assumption 'better safe than sorry', and aggregating to bask with many turtle eyes watching out for possible danger is a strategy that has evidently worked out well over time.
That said, researchers have recently observed more complex social behavior in a number of turtle species. Some female turtles stay near their nest and defend it from predators for a few hours or days – the most dangerous period as a fresh turtle nest can easily be located by a predator smelling it.
Eastern Box Turtle question. I live in So. Maryland. Last June I think a female BT came to lay eggs in my backyard (part of the video is posted to my FB profile, I can "share" it via Email if you give me one). I remember learning that... the newly laid eggs can attract raccoons (or other mammals) so I tried to protect the area by placing a large "cage" over it. Sure enough, the very next day, one of the two pots I used to keep the cage in place was knocked over. Luckily the remaining pot was too heavy for whatever mammal(s) were trying to remove it, so the cage stayed in place, and the eggs untouched. I researched the potential incubation period and set a reminder in my calendar for days 50-90. But once Sept. came around nothing happened. I then looked closer and saw what appeared like a mole tunnel in the direction of the eggs. Thus, my question is, are moles a know predator on E. BT eggs? And if so, how can I protect future BT eggs from mole predation?? I believe the BT populations need a helping hand.
-Carla via Facebook
I am not aware of published records of mole predation on turtle eggs, but given mole habits and diet, it is very likely that a mole would eat turtle eggs if it happened to tunnel into a nest. But it is unlikely that a mole would somehow detect a turtle nest somewhere 'up ahead' and tunnel consciously towards it. It seems that your nest may just have suffered an unfortunate rare event that is unlikely to occur again.
But knowing that moles may be a challenge in your backyard, and that you probably want to prevent a repeat next year, the best advice I can offer it to carefully dig a trench a few inches deep around the nest area, and bury the lower edges of the cage in the soil; if possible, flare the lower edges outward below mole tunnel depth, making it more difficult to tunnel downward and pass under the buried cage. Moles can dig quite deep and this would not provide total protection, but would improve the odds; to be absolutely certain you would have to dig in half-inch hardware cloth to a depth of at least 12 inches, which probably involves substantial disturbance to the nest. The hatchling turtles would not be able to leave the caged area, so daily checks would be necessary during the possible hatching period.
There could be other factors involved. Box turtle females often dig 'test' nests without laying eggs, and sometimes eggs are not fertile or not viable for other reasons.
You may be interested to know that the first box turtle hatchlings emerged in northern Maryland (Silver Spring) in the second half of August this year. Often not all eggs hatch at the same time; there may be several weeks between the first and last of the hatchlings leaving the nest. The hatchlings dig their way out vertically to the surface, leaving just a finger-thick exit hole to indicate where the nest was.
I live in SE Kentucky, and almost every year my husband turns up some baby box turtles, sometimes still in their eggs, when he's hand digging the potatoes (see my profile pic). But this is the only time we ever see such small box turtles, and no one around here has ever seen them so small. Question: Do they live underground for a long period of time before emerging as the adult box turtles we all know and love?
-Cindy via Facebook
The lifestyle of hatchling box turtles is largely a mystery. From casual observations in the wild, and the behavior of hatchlings born and raised in captivity, it appears that for the first several years of their lives they play hide and seek to save their lives, not just from predators but also from dehydration and overheating. They appear to reside in very dense shaded undergrowth, and share this habitat with favorite food items like slugs, earthworms and other small prey, so they can stay out of sight and don't need to move around much. Whether they actually dig into the soil and feed underground, or stay mostly under vegetation, moss and leaflitter during their active season, is one of the many mysteries still to be answered about box turtles.
I live in Federal Way, WA. We used to have turtles in our wetland. I could rarely visit the West Hylebos Wetland without seeing at least five large turtles stacked, one upon the other, on a stump in Brooklake. I was unable to identify these turtles, as they seemed to have characteristics of both the painted turtle and the western pond turtle (which was considered endangered). At least four years ago, the turtles disappeared. I visit the park three or four times a week, always looking for the turtles, but the turtles are gone. It makes me so sad. Where did they go? How do we get them back?
-Teri via Facebook
Many possibilities come to mind – a clever predator who is better at catching and/or consuming turtles took up residence in your wetland, a human has collected them, or they perished in an unusually severe winter. There is an active program in Oregon by the wildlife authorities to re-introduce the Western Pond Turtle to wetlands where it used to occur; it is worth contacting the
State of Washington Department of Ecology and ask what measures they are taking to safeguard and restore populations of western pond turtles and western painted turtles.
How are Canadian FW Turtle populations doing? If in decline, what are the causes?
-Darcey via Facebook
Generally speaking, Canada's freshwater turtle populations are at the northern limits of their ranges, and at the margins of what they can tolerate ecologically; as one goes further and further north, their eggs have fewer warm days to incubate, and the proportion of summers where turtles can successfully reproduce declines. While there are large numbers of Midland Painted and Snapping Turtles, the other six species are considered either Threatened or Endangered by provincial and/or federal agencies. For most of these species, such as the Eastern Spiny Softshell and Musk Turtle in Québec, there's no data to suggest they were ever historically abundant. As with populations elsewhere in North America, turtles in Canada are significantly impacted by accidental mortality on roads, from agricultural machinery, by subsidized native predators, and general habitat degradation and loss.