Todays is World Turtle Day!

What is World Turtle Day? 

World Turtle Day celebrates turtles and tortoises around the world. It’s a chance for everyone to discover more about these complex and dignified animals.

When is World Turtle Day celebrated?

World Turtle Day was created in 2000 and is celebrated every year on May 23rd.

Why do we celebrate World Turtle Day?

World Turtle Day was created by American Tortoise Rescue to highlight the plight of turtles and tortoises both in the wild and in captivity.

7 facts about turtles

All tortoises are turtles, but not all turtles are tortoises. A tortoise is a turtle that only lives on land while other turtles live mainly in rivers or the sea.

Turtles navigate using the Earth’s magnetic field and return to the beach they hatched on to nest their own young.

When travelling between their coastal feeding grounds and their nesting sites on beaches, turtles transport much-needed nutrients that help these ecosystems flourish.

Turtle shells are made of 50 different bones that have fused together. Their popularity as jewellery and collectable items has threatened turtles’ survival since the 18th century.

There are seven species of marine turtles; hawksbill, loggerhead, leatherback, olive ridley, green, flatback, and Kemp's ridley. Six of these seven species are at risk of extinction.

Turtles are highly sociable animals that travel across vast territories in large groups. This is just one reason why they don’t make good pets.

The illegal wildlife trade, the use of turtles in traditional medicine, and by-catch are the most significant threats to turtles in modern times.

How humans threaten turtles’ survival 

Turtles are at risk of extinction, especially marine turtles. They are increasingly losing out to human activity and their numbers are slow to recover.

Fewer hatchlings reach adulthood

Turtle hatchlings face extreme hazards with estimates suggesting that only between 1 in 1000 or 1 in 10,000 hatchlings reach adulthood. These hatchlings have always faced predators in their early days of life but human activity is reducing their survival rates even further.

By-catch and ocean population

Adult turtles are also at risk. They can be accidentally caught in fishing gear or even in the increasing level of plastic waste finding its way into the oceans.

Exotic pet trade

As well as turtles being harmed accidentally, there is a huge illegal trade in turtles. They are sought-after for their meat, eggs, and shells or as ‘exotic pets’.