• A varied selection of recent articles, stories and sites on the Web that is compiled by Michael J. Connor, Ph.D.
  • The links are listed as published in the relevant issue of the Tortuga Gazette.
  • Please note that all links were functioning when posted. My apologies if any are no longer available. Disabled links are present for informational purposes.

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Tortuga Gazette 48(1) | January/February 2012

Galapagos Tortoises Hatch at South Carolina Zoo
Keepers at a zoo in South Carolina were surprised to discover five hatchling Galapagos tortoises wandering around their Galapagos tortoise exhibit!

Help Shipwreck Cleanup!
Leaching iron from rusting shipwrecks in the U. S. Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument is causing overgrowth of coral-degrading organisms threatening habitat for several sea turtle species. Sign MCI's petition to get the shipwrecks removed.

Trinidad and Tobago Ends Turtle Hunts
Government is moving steadily in its effort to cease the slaughtering of turtles.

Betty Burge RIP
The recent Desert Tortoise Council newsletter has a tribute to Betty Burge who died August 8.

Gopher Tortoise "Pay and Pave" Replaced by Relocation
Florida is making it easier for developers to get permits to relocate gopher tortoises.

Leopard in the Lion's Den
These pictures made me wince!

Strange But True...


Bulgarian Mafia Boss Nabbed for Tortoise Possession
Is this the modern equivalent of Al Capone being busted for not paying income taxes?

Company provides 170-year warranty on floor heater
Galapagos tortoises at the London Zoo get new flooring - with a lifetime warranty!

Turtle Potato
Turtle potato? (Not so much...)

CNAH Library
The Center for North American Herpetology hosts an unmatched library of research papers on reptiles and amphibians that are available for free-download. One of my favorite websites!

Tortuga Gazette 48(2) | March/April 2012

Galapagos Tortoise News

•Extinct Galápagos Tortoises May Still Exist!
Specimens of the “extinct” Floreana giant tortoise may still be living on the island of Isabela.

•Galapagos Giant Tortoise Species to be Brought Back from Extinction

•British Geological Society Finds Slides of Specimens Collected by Darwin!
And you thought your cupboards needed a good clean-out...

Green Sea Turtles’ Mating Habits May Protect Against Effects of Climate Change
Males moving between rookeries may be helping to offset temperature-induced skewed hatchling sex ratios. The paper is available at http://tinyurl/matingbehavior2

Mexican Sea Turtle Hatching Bonanza
Mexico reports 42.2 million sea turtles hatched in the 2010-2011 nesting season.

Sea Turtles of India
Informative site with some beautiful photographs!

Turtle Inter Nest-mate Communication
Scientists have evidence that embryonic Emydura may communicate with their siblings to assure synchronized hatching.

Egyptian Tortoise Conservation
Conserving Testudo kleinmanni in Egypt.

Turtle Videos

• Solar Power Plants and the Desert Tortoise
KCET video segment which includes an appearance by yours truly.

• Dutch Repatriate Kemp’s Ridley
A lost Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle is flown home to Florida

• Saving Sara
Veterinarian Doug Mader saves a speared loggerhead sea turtle.

Tortuga Gazette 48(3) | May/June 2012

Desert Tortoise Council Annual Symposium
Read abstracts of presentations given at the February 2012 Symposium.

Suit Filed to Halt Calico Power Plant
Another solar power plant project sited in desert tortoise habitat heads for court.

Geometric Tortoise Conservation
Efforts to save one of the world’s rarest tortoises after fire ravaged their habitat.
Background information on the geometric tortoise.

Aldabra Tortoises Threatened by Climate Change?
The 100,000 tortoises on Aldabra may be threatened by rough seas and rising tides.

Court Limits Sea Turtle Deaths in Hawai`i’s Longline Fishery
A federal appeals court has stopped the National Marine Fisheries Service from increasing the number of endangered leatherback sea turtles that can be killed by longline fishing fleets from 16 to 26 and endangered loggerhead sea turtles from 17 to 34.

Sea Turtle May Become California's Official Marine Reptile
Bill would make the endangered Pacific leatherback sea turtle the state's official “marine reptile”.

Leatherback Sea Turtle Conservation Day
You can help persuade California legislators to make October 15 “Leatherback Sea Turtle Conservation Day”.

Ninja Redux
Those teenage mutant Ninja turtles are all grown up now, and they don’t eat pizza anymore...