World Turtle Day Provides Many Substantial Outlets to Maintain their Protection
May 23rd marks World Turtle day, a day in the environmental world where we pay tribute and put forward conservation efforts to protect the turtle population.
To start off let’s differentiate turtles from tortoises. The main difference between the two tortoises only live on land, while turtles can exist in both land and water. While they are two different types of animals, the day now celebrates the protection of both. The environmental holiday came to be in 2002 by American Tortoise Rescue (ATR) where they called attention to the suffering and endangered status of the species' due to human interference and environmental factors. The day brings all types of people together to learn and pledge their duty to helping the turtles. ATR started in 1990 by Susan and Marshall Thompson. The nonprofit rescues and rehabilitates the creatures, as well, focuses on protecting their ecosystems.
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Today, the day is celebrated internationally, with many people even getting dressed up in costumes or simply wearing green. This is a day where people also actively get involved in projects to help protect or rescue the turtles that are in their area. Resources are also given to schools so that lesson plans can be made for the holiday, which is a major stride in raising awareness because it teaches future generations the importance of protecting wildlife. You could also donate to ocean conservation, such as our own Green Wave Initiative project which takes trash out of the ocean which is harmful to wildlife including turtles and tortoises.
There are multiple different ways that anyone can get involved in the practices of World Turtle Day. For instance, one could adopt a turtle or tortoise from a rescue. These little creatures are very low maintenance and can be a great pet option for children. You could also donate to the numerous turtle conservation centers such as the American Tortoise Rescue. An effort that can be made that doesn’t cost any money is volunteering. Signing up at a turtle rescue center and tending to sick and rehabilitating turtles.
To finish off this post, here are some fun facts about turtles and tortoises!
Their shell is part of their skeleton and is made of 50 bones.
There are roughly 300 species of turtles.
Turtles are cold blooded.
They are one of the oldest creatures recorded, with the first turtle recorded over 200 million years ago.
