Pinta Island Tortoise now extinct

Updated July 3, 2012

Turtle Tidbit #7 reports the June 24, 2012, death of Lonesome George, the last of the Pinta Island tortoises (Chelonoidis abingdoni) that lived in the Galagapos Islands of Equador. Though it is tragic to see a species become extinct, George's death was not in vain. His situation - being the last of his kind - simulated "an extraordinary effort by the government of Ecuador to restore not only tortoise populations throughout the archipelago but also to improve the status of other endangered and threatened species," says Galapagos National Park Public Relations.

Hawksbill Turtles Adapt

Turtle Tidbit #6 reports the amazing discovery that the critically endangered Hawksbill Sea Turtle, thought to be nearly extinct in the eastern tropical Pacific, may not be in fact not so close to extinction after all.  Now that fact alone is newsworthy, but the reason behind that statement is what really excited me. Get this: Hawksbill Turtles moved to a new habitat!  Researcher Alexander R. Gaos says, "This is a unique behavior that represents a new life history paradigm for this species..."   And we are talking about a species that's been around for millions of years.  Imagine that!!

Galapagos Tortoises

Turtle Tidbit #5 is an "eyewitness report" on the giant tortoises of the Galapagos Islands. A friend of mine recently vacationed in the Galapagos Islands. Her adventure is recorded on her blog via the link below. In her post on August 17, 2011, Nancy writes about her reactions as well as about the tortoises. What she says is exactly what I imagine I would be thinking if I had been there. I totally recommend this post to you, and be sure to double-click on her high resolution photos. Each time you click, the picture get bigger! 

Andre Returns to the Sea

Turtle Tidbit #4 is a report on Andre, a green sea turtle who was severely injured by motorboat propellers in June 2010.  Advanced medical techniques such as VAC therapy and Strattice Reconstructive Tissue Matrix implants saved Andre's life.  Green sea turtles are classified as endangered in Florida, where this incident took place.  Coverage appeared on Reuters website on August 5, 2011.

JFK's Tweeting Turtles

Wikipedia's public domain photo by Mary Hollinger, NODC biologist, NOAA

Turtle Tidbit #3 is a report on the diamondback terrapins on the runway today at JFK International Airport. Flights were delayed by about 30 minutes while airport officials picked up the turtles and relocated them to a safer nesting area. JFK Airport borders Jamaica Bay where the turtles live. They leave the water every year around this time to lay eggs, and their appearance at JFK is an annual event. Today there seemed to be an unusually large number of them -- the highest count I read was 150.

The press had a field day with this story. Please check all the links below for the variety of pictures they contain as well as the audio from the flight tower.

Turtles Pay Tribute to Victims of War

Turtle Tidbit #2 is a report on the sculpture installation by French artist Rachid Khimoune. Now installed on Normandy's Omaha Beach, the exhibit consists of 1000 soldier's helmets fashioned as turtles. It protests global violence and commemorates the 67th anniversary of D-Day. Coverage by The Associated Press appeared in many newspapers today.

Gopher Tortoise and NASA Space Shuttle

Turtle Tidbit #1 (the first post in my new series) is an AFP photo by Bruce Weaver published by Yahoo! News. The photo, seen by clicking the link below, was taken at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.  It depicts a gopher tortoise against the backdrop of a NASA space shuttle.  This photo is truly a contrast between the old and the new because the gopher tortoise originated in North America 60 million years ago, making it one of the oldest living species.