May 23 - World Turtle Day

Published on May 23, 2021

Key Points

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?