Help Seaturtles alert to volunteer

　　Paul and Connie Summerlin were in the middle of their early-morning walk along the beach in south Baldwin County when they spotted a commotion.
When they investigated, a fisherman had reeled in an endangered Kemp’s ridley turtle. Because of their role with Share the Beach, the Summerlins quickly moved into action as the crowd watched the angler remove the monofilament line that had put the turtle in distress.
As members of the Share the Beach program, the Summerlins, who call Foley home, patrol a 1.3-mile stretch of beach to look for signs of sea turtle nesting activity. On this morning in May, they were distracted from their regular vigil.
“About 75 yards away, we saw a fisherman and there was a crowd gathering around him,” Paul said. “I thought he had caught a big fish, but I leaned out and looked that way and realized it was a turtle. So we ran down there right quick to look at her. He had already removed the monofilament and was fixing to release her. But I looked at her and told him we didn’t need to release her; we needed to get a recovery team out here with the Share the Beach turtle program.”

　　An endangered Kemp’s ridley turtle, nicknamed Molly, is lifted from its transport crate and deposited on the beach near the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge by Lisa Crawford of the Gulfarium and Paul Summerlin of Foley as Connie Summerlin looks on. As part of the Share the Beach program, the Summerlins played a role in the rescue and rehabilitation of the turtle, which scooted down the sugar-colored sand and into the Gulf of Mexico, where she quickly disappeared into the clear, blue waters.Share the Beach (www.alabamaseaturtles.com) is a volunteer program that enlists concerned citizens to walk every mile of the Alabama beaches from Mobile Bay to the Florida line, as well as Dauphin Island.
“We walk every morning during turtle-nesting season,” Summerlin said. “We walk it right at daylight to see if we spot any turtle trails before the crowds get out and disturb the tracks. If we find a turtle crawl, we call in a team and move the nest if necessary. We excavate the nest and count the eggs. We mark them and monitor them. The turtles will nest any time from May to the first of October. There are usually several rescues a year, but this is the first rescue effort we’ve been involved in.”
The Kemp’s ridley rarely nests along the Alabama Coast, although several nests have been verified. The majority of the nesting for the Kemp’s ridley, which is mostly carnivorous, occurs in Mexico and southern Texas. Although they rarely nest in Alabama, Kemp’s ridley turtles are frequently seen in Alabama waters by recreational and commercial fishermen.
Other sea turtles that may be encountered along the Alabama Coast include the loggerhead, leatherback, hawksbill and green sea turtle. The leatherback and hawksbill are also listed as endangered species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, while the loggerhead and green are listed as threatened. The green sea turtle gets its name from the color of its fat because of its diet of vegetation and algae. The leatherback diet is made up mainly of jellyfish, while the hawksbill feeds primarily on sponges, invertebrates and algae. The loggerhead, which is the turtle most often encountered along the Alabama Coast, dines on hard-shelled animals like conchs and whelks, as well as crabs and other crustaceans.
When the Summerlins called 866-SEA-TURTLE to report the turtle in distress, a team from the Gulfarium in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., was quickly dispatched to recover the turtle and assess its health.
Rachel Cain, one of the turtle rehabilitators at Gulfarium, said the Summerlins definitely took the right action.
“The monofilament line was wrapped so tightly that it had cut off the circulation in the flippers,” Cain said. “The turtle was unable to swim well. She was brought to the Gulfarium to make sure the monofilament was completely removed, and she did have to undergo a course of antibiotics because of the deep cuts along each flipper. She also went through a little physical therapy to get a little more movement in each flipper. She did not lose any part of the flipper. One of the flippers is a little less functional, but she is able to get around with all the abilities she had previously. It’s just one flipper doesn’t move as well.

　　“They are a more-endangered species. We have a few nests in our area. This is one that is rarer, and we don’t encounter them as often in our area. It’s a smaller turtle species for our area. It gets to be about 100 pounds when it’s fully grown. Its shell is different. It looks almost like a lily pad compared to the other species, which have shells that are more teardrop-shaped.”
Patrick Berry, general manager of the Gulfarium, said the Kemp’s ridley release near the Bon Secour Wildlife Refuge was one of three for the week.
“The Gulfarium has been in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., for more than 55 years,” Berry said. “We have quite a variety of species of animals at our facility. As far as our role in this project, we have been involved in sea turtle rehabilitation for many, many years, almost as long as the facility has been in existence. We’ve worked with the gamut of the sea turtle species to rehabilitate them and return them to the wild.
“Just the other day, we released another Kemp’s ridley turtle near Fort Walton Beach, where it was rescued. We’re also going to release a green sea turtle at Pensacola, where it was rescued. We’re thrilled to be a part of the sea turtle rehabilitation effort. It’s good for our staff, as well as the animals. We like to get the message out about how to conserve these animals for future generations.
Berry said the greatest threats to sea turtles are habitat degradation, entanglement in monofilament or netting, boat strikes and ingestion of garbage.
“Plastic bags get blown into the water that the turtles mistake for jellyfish,” he said. “Some of this is man-made, so we need to try to be careful to reduce those variables by reducing, reusing and recycling. All of us can do those simple little things that help conserve this type species and other species in the ocean.”

Terrible turtles

　　
　　Let's start with the basics. There are two types of snapping turtle: the Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina) and the Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys temminckii). A common snapper has a smoother shell than an alligator snapper's, which has three distinct spiky ridges. Don't be fooled by common snapper hatchlings, however. They have ridged shells at birth that even out over time. The alligator snapper has a more triangular head with little bumps that look like eyelashes around the eye. Generally, the alligator snapper looks more prehistoric than the common snapper. Can you tell these two apart? (Source)
2. Common Snapping Turtles are an Ancient Species

　　People say turtles are slow, but snapping turtles might say that humans are slow! The modern snapping turtle evolved over 40 million years ago, while anatomically modern humans emerged only 200,000 years ago. Snapping turtles hung out with dinosaurs, but they're not closely related at all. Birds have more in common with dinosaurs than snapping turtles do. Source.

India's festival to slaughter the turtle to celebrate

　　A Hindu festival that celebrates light has been shrouded in darkness following the sacrificial slaughter of up to 100,000 turtles.
Shown in these horrifying images, critically endangered species including the northern river terrapin and the black soft-shell turtle, are sacrificed in the name of religion.
The ancient ritual takes place during the celebration of Kali Puja, which started in Bengal yesterday.

　　Slaughtered for tradition: A Bangladeshi trader kills a turtle with a knife and stick in the early morning hours in Dhaka, Bangladesh
Held once a year, and corresponding with the festival Diwali, sacrifices are made to Kali, the Hindu goddess of power.
During Kali Puja, market streets are teeming with devotees who purchase and consume thousands of turtles.
One of the species found on Dhaka's markets is the northern river terrapin.
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Around 25 individuals are known to exist, making it one of the rarest animals on earth.
On paper it is offered the same level of protection as a tiger.
Another targeted species is the black soft-shell, which has only recently been officially been found in the wild and it has a single population in a pond in the region of Chittagong.
Even though many of the turtles are critically endangered and feature on Schedule 1 of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, the slaughter is often overlooked by authorities.
The act has enraged conservation groups in India and abroad.

　　Laid on the table: 100,000 turtles were butchered and their meat, limbs and organs were sold to customers to eat, it is sole for between £6 to £37 per kilo
"Since the killing of turtles was made illegal, this mass slaughter has been carried out in the name of 'religion'," said Dr Rashid of Centre for Advanced Research in Natural Resources & Management (CARINAM) in Bangladesh.
'It's because of this that the authorities turn a blind eye - they are too scared of causing social unrest."
At Dhaka's Tanti Market, the turtles are butchered and their meat, limbs and organs are then sold to customers.
The meat sells for between $10 - $60 per kilo (£6-£37), depending on the species.
Followers believe that by eating the turtle, they will take on its strength and longevity.
During festival, the majority of Bangladesh's Hindu population consume turtle meat.
Businessman Sunil Kumar Bala commented: "We have been eating turtles during Kali Puja for a long time. It is a tradition that we will maintain even if the government tries to stop us."
The turtle trade offers a source of income to up to 30,000 people.

Sea turtles and pearl

　　
　　Will, found at The Pearl-Qatar
The United Development Company (UDC), in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, have jointly agreed to establish the country’s first urban turtle sanctuary at The Pearl-Qatar.
The sanctuary, the Turtle Rehab Project, already has its first beneficiary - “Will”, an endangered green sea turtle that was found injured near The Pearl-Qatar in October 2010. The project was announced by Mohamed al-Jaidah, an environment expert at the Ministry of Environment, and one of the team members who accompanied “Will” on her journey to the United Arab Emirates.
Jaidah explained to delegates at the ecoQ conference: “The Pearl-Qatar’s Environmental Affairs team contacted us to assist in Will’s rehabilitation. After treatment in Doha and later at a specialised facility in Dubai, it was decided by the Ministry of Environment and UDC to establish a turtle sanctuary encompassing education and research at The Pearl-Qatar to care for turtles with conditions like Will.
“Facilities at The Pearl-Qatar’s state-of-the-art sanctuary will include an aquarium, touch pools for marine life, turtle hatchery, rearing pools and wet and dry treatment labs,” Jaidah added.
“This project primarily embraces programmes of injured turtle treatment and rehabilitation, nest protection, research and education while providing a visitor attraction. Education is a key component and emphasis will be placed on learning, whether it’s a child understanding of the life cycle of a sea turtle or a PhD student researching marine conservation in the Middle East.”

Released the turtle

　　
　　The 75-pound Kemp's Ridley sea turtle named Talulla returned to the water on Friday. She was rescued June 28 on a beach on Eglin Air Force Base property. The emaciated turtle was found on its back just out of the water.
The Northwest Florida Daily News reports staff at the Gulfarium nursed the turtle back to health.
Kemp's Ridley turtles are listed as endangered species.
Next week, the Gulfarium will release its last two rehabilitated turtles -- one in Pensacola and the other near Gulf Shores, Ala. Four other Kemp's Ridley turtles live at the marine park.

The tortoise is not allowed to trade

　　Nguyen Ba Toan, a Hanoi man who has caught and sold a 22-kg Asiatic soft shell turtle, can be fined up to $24,000 for trading threatened species, said lawyer Nguyen Viet Trieu, head of Viet Trieu law firm in Hanoi.
Giant turtle sold to Chinese man

　　Trieu said Vietnamese laws state that any attempt to hunt, capture, raise or kill wild animals listed in appendix IIB of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) can receive a fine of VND400-500 million (US$19,200-24,000).
Toan discovered the giant turtle on October 12 when he went fishing under Chuong Duong Bridge and caught it by himself.
After bringing it home, he invited many people to his house to see the turtle and offered to sell it.
After hearing that the turtle is in the Red List of Threatened Species, Toan tried to raise it while waiting for authorities to solve the case.
But as no government official turned up and the turtle started to become weak, he sold it to a person in the northern province of Bac Giang for VND100 million (US$4,800) on October 14.
Many wonder why officials didn’t take any action and let Toan sell the creature.
Nguyen Van Quan, head of the wild animal preservation at Education for Nature Vietnam (ENV) said that after hearing about the case, he immediately called the Department of Captured Fisheries and Resources Protection under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
However, he was told to contact Hanoi’s Forest Protection Department, which later said turtles are a marine creature and thus fall within the responsibility of the former department.
But according to a government decree issued on June 20 2008, the Forest Protection Department is in charge of cases related to Asiatic soft shell turtles.