Showing posts with label turtles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label turtles. Show all posts

May 23 - World Turtle Day

 Published on May 23, 2021

This is an update of my post published on May 23, 2010:



This is a day to learn about and appreciate turtles and tortoises—and The Humane Society and American Tortoise Rescue hope you will help them in their conservation efforts, too.

Some people dress up like turtles today, some work on projects such as rescuing tortoises stranded on highways, and some participate in educational events. 

Many conservationists - and the Humane Society - are against making pets out of turtles and tortoises, pointing out that a lot of turtles die as they are collected in nature for the pet trade, and that pet turtles are often difficult to care for and therefore likely to die early. 

Here is a YouTube video about Loggerhead turtles.




Did you know...?

The earliest known turtles lived 215 million years ago. As a group, turtles are even more ancient than snakes and lizards, evolving at around the same time as the first dinosaurs.

Generally, turtles who live on land are called tortoises.

Some tortoises have spectacular shells!!! Wow!



Humans often get salmonella poisoning from casual contact with turtles, which is why the sale of turtles under 4 inches long is illegal in the U.S.

Why do so many stores still sell turtles under 4 inches long? Apparently stores exploit a loophole that allows sales “for educational purposes.” ( ! )

(I've had salmonella. Believe me, you don't want it!!!)

Speaking of "under 4 inches," some turtles and tortoises
are tiny (at least when they are newborns), and some
are really large!




Celebrate Turtles and Tortoises!

Do some turtle crafts from How Stuff Works. Or how about making a CD turtle magnet or a flowerpot turtle sculpture?

Use ordinary items like coffee filters, paper plates,
tissue paper, and buttons to make turtles and 
tortoises!


A Florida wildlife organization offers a free online Sea Turtle Fun Pack that includes coloring sheets and puzzles.


Learn to draw cartoon turtles with a step-by-step lesson.

Drawing a larger head and especially
larger eyes makes your turtle look
younger and cuter!






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September 29 – Mutation Day



Posted on September 29, 2015

If you were a teenage mutant ninja turtle, which would you celebrate – the anniversary of your birth as a perfectly ordinary baby turtle, or the anniversary of the mutation that caused you to be a smart, capable ninja?

I'm guessing the latter...
Well, today is the day to celebrate! In the fictional world of TMNT, today is the anniversary of Splinter's and the four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' mutation.

Fans are all over this, creating art and videos and parties.

Of course, I am all over an enticing name like “Mutation Day” – I just want to wallow in the biology of it!

A mutations is a permanent change in the DNA of a plant, animal, or other organism. The change can be caused by damage to DNA, damage to RNA, a copying error, or from the bits of DNA being inserted into or deleted from a strand.



The mutation that caused the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to be more human (and much more ninja) than the average pet turtle is, of course, impossible. To make changes that enormous in any one animal would require thousands of mutations – not just one!

Good...or bad?

A lot of mutations don't have any effect, so they are pretty much neutral as far as the mutated creature goes.

On the other hand, many mutations have a harmful effect, and some have a good effect. It all depends on specifically where on the DNA or RNA strand the change or copying error is as well as the nature of the change or error.



If there were no such thing as mutation,
life on Earth might be no more complex
than this. ^
Overall, if you look long-term and big-picture, mutations are good, because they are the raw materials of evolution. If there was no such thing as mutation, you and I would definitely not be here discussing mutations – the only life on Earth would be super simple one-celled creatures.





I love the recipe allegory Mr. Andersen uses to explain about mutations! Check it out.

To learn more about mutations, check out this lesson plan or thisBrain POP.




Also on this date:
















Plan ahead:

Check out my Pinterest boards for:
And here are my Pinterest boards for:

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June 13 – Turtle Days

Posted on June 13, 2014

Check out the official website for Churubusco's four-day Turtle Days festival, and you will see that there is a fish fry and an all-you-can eat dinner, a poker run and a cancer walk, a parade and a fireworks show, dances and BINGO, a tractor pull and cornhole tournaments, plus rides and entertainment and loads of food booths.

What does any of that have to do with turtles? you may ask. Well, I left out one activity: a turtle race.

But that one turtle race isn't the reason why this annual festival is held, and it's not why Churubusco, Indiana, is linked in people's minds with turtles.

No, the real reason for the turtle connection is the Beast of 'Busco:

A turtle named Oscar.

A giant turtle, as big as a dining room table.

      A mysterious lake monster!


It all began in 1898, when a man named Oscar Fulk claimed he saw a giant snapping turtle living in a 7-acre lake on his land. Nobody seemed to believe his story. I guess he didn't have the best P.R. people.

Way later, in the summer of 1948, two men out on that same lake claimed that they saw a giant turtle, larger than their boat. They told the current owner of the lake what they saw.

Soon the lake owner spotted the huge turtle, too, and then more and more local people came to the lake, and some of them reported seeing a giant turtle as well. Newspapers and radio began to run stories on the lake monster, and people came from far and wide.

Many people didn't want to just see the beast – they wanted to capture it!

It was a simpler time, I've read – a time when there was no television broadcasts in the area, and certainly no internet! In the winter of 1949 there was a lot of interest in finding the turtle, who had been named Oscar after the original farmer who said he'd spotted the beast. People came up with all sorts of schemes for catching a giant turtle – from nets to traps to contraptions. People even brought up a female sea turtle from Florida to try to lure Oscar (who may or may not have been a female, especially given the fact it may or may not even have existed!!!). But none of the schemes worked.

Either Oscar was one smart turtle...or he / she / it didn't exist. I know which explanation I'd put my money on!

Read more about the hunt for Oscar here. 


If you live near a lake...

...Think ahead and start a rumor about a lake monster. The fabled Oscar put Churubusco on the map, and of course the Loch Ness Monster made Loch Ness super famous.

You can do the same for your local lake! Start some rumors—the bigger, the better! Your children and your children's children will thank you!


Also on this date:























Plan ahead:

Check out my Pinterest boards for:
And here are my Pinterest boards for:
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May 23, 2010


Happy World Turtle Day!

This is a day to learn about and appreciate turtles and tortoises—and The Humane Society and American Tortoise Rescue hope you will help them in their conservation efforts, too.

Some people dress up like turtles today, some work on projects such as rescuing tortoises stranded on highways, and some participate in educational events. The Humane Society has a list of 12 Things to Do for Turtles and Tortoises.

Many conservationists are against making pets out of turtles, pointing out that a lot of turtles die as they are collected in nature for the pet trade, and that pet turtles are often difficult to care for and therefore likely to die early. The Humane Society urges us to enjoy turtles and tortoises in the wild rather than making them pets.

Another group working to help turtles (in this case, sea turtles) is the Caribbean Conservation Corporation. Check out the CCC's Turtle Tides kid section, with tons of information and games, too! And here is a YouTube video about Loggerhead turtles.





Did you know...?
  • The earliest known turtles lived 215 million years ago. As a group, turtles are even more ancient than snakes and lizards, evolving at around the same time as the first dinosaurs.
  • Generally, turtles who live on land are called tortoises.
  • Humans often get salmonella poisoning from casual contact with turtles, which is why the sale of turtles under 4 inches long is illegal in the U.S. Why do so many stores still sell turtles under 4 inches long? Apparently stores exploit a loophole that allows sales “for educational purposes.”
(I've had salmonella. Believe me, you don't want it!!!)
Celebrate Turtles and Tortoises!

  • A Florida wildlife organization offers a free online Sea Turtle Fun Pack that includes coloring sheets and puzzles.

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