Canadian man caught trying to smuggle 51 live turtles under his clothes

A Canadian man taped 51 live turtles to his legs and groin and tried to hide them under sweatpants in an attempt to smuggle the reptiles over the Detroit border crossing, according to federal prosecutors in Michigan.
The man was captured as part of a surveillance operation conducted by US Fish and Wildlife Service agents. An official with the service said there has been an increase in turtle smuggling in the last year, which they attribute to demand in Asian food and collector markets.
“These turtles, by the time they get to the end-collector, they can be worth anywhere from $1,300 to $1,500 a turtle,” said Ed Grace, deputy chief law enforcement officer with the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
Prosecutors say Kai Xu and Lihua Lin attempted to smuggle several species of North American pond turtles out of the US and into Canada.
On 5 August, two fish and wildlife agents say they watched Xu disappear behind two semi-trailers in a Detroit parking lot for about 10 minutes before reappearing with, “irregularly shaped bulges under Xu’s sweatpants on both legs”.
Xu was later stopped by Canadian border patrol after he drove through the Detroit to Windsor, Ontario crossing. Xu’s attorney, Timothy Debolski of Garden City, Michigan, said it’s too early to comment on Xu’s case. Agents said they were tipped off by a Detroit UPS employee identified only as “Dave”, who alerted agents to a seven pound box labeled “live fish keep cool”.
In an indictment of Lin, agents said they surveilled Xu as he drove Lin to the Detroit Metropolitan Airport on Tuesday. Lin was bound for Shanghai. He checked two bags, in which fish and wildlife agents say they found more than 200 live turtles, including the protected spotted turtle.
Fish and wildlife service agents say turtles are far from the only North American animals targeted by poachers.
A spokesman for the fish and wildlife office, Gavin Shire, said agents sometimes find hummingbirds smuggled in wigs, and that rattlesnakes and Gila Monsters are also popular prey for smugglers.
“Not just with turtles, I see it with ginseng, I see it with how wildlife in the United States can be, you know, coveted by collectors or for food markets,” said Grace.
Both men were indicted on illegal smuggling charges and violations of the endangered species act. The turtles were seized by fish and wildlife agents.

Pig-nosed turtle is too cute for its own good, says new report

The global illegal animal trade is taking its toll on vulnerable species, among them a small and distinctive reptile you might have seen featured in news stories for being smuggled aboard airplanes in people’s trousers. According to a newly released report by Traffic, an international watchdog group that monitors the wildlife trade, the rare pig-nosed turtle is under dire threat from exotic pet enthusiasts.
According to Serene Chng, programme officer at Traffic’s Kuala Lumpur office, the reptile is in high demand from pet traders - including online traders - in Europe, the United States and Asia. It can be found only regionally in Australia and Papua and is categorized as “vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
The pig-nosed turtle - named for its porcine snout – is especially appealing to pet traders because of its “uniqueness”, explains Chng: “They are the only surviving species of the family they are in. They come from a restricted range, so it is very exotic to own [them]. And the hatchlings are very attractive and very cute.” The species can grow up to 50 lbs and two feet in length over the course of its 40-year lifespan.

The new report on the state of the species finds that within a 10-year period (2003-2013), 80,000 pig-nosed turtles were confiscated in some 30 seizures, including a massive bust of 8,368 turtles in an array of suitcases in Papua and Jakarta, Indonesia, last January. “Chances are there is a lot more illegal trade happening that isn’t being reported or caught,” Chng says.
The illegal animal trade constitutes an estimated $10bn global industry, according to the Humane Society. Numbers on the illicit exotic pet trade are hard to come by, but Peter Paul van Dijk, director of Conservation International’s turtle conservation program, speculates that it’s roughly $1bn annually - and growing. And although turtles have been a mainstay of illegal trade for at least 20 years, the turtle trade is “quietly growing in the US,” according to van Dijk. “There is greater demand and an increased opportunity to buy turtles in pet stores”, he says.
China has one of the biggest thirsts on the globe for pet turtles, says Ross Kiester, Chief Scientist at the Turtle Conservancy. “The pet trade is definitely increasing and you see that as the Asian countries become more wealthy. 20 years ago in China, no one could afford turtles as a pet - and now everyone can.”
According to Chng, millions of turtles and tortoises are being shuttled around the globe annually for the pet trade. She says there’s an accelerating trend of exporting turtles by packing them into checked luggage on international passenger airlines. Smuggled animals are usually babies because of their smaller, more transportable size. Nearly 20% of turtles die while being smuggled.
According to the report, Papuan villagers are plucking upwards of 2m pig-nosed turtle eggs from their riverside nests annually. Because hatchlings tend to bring more money than the turtle eggs, some Papuan collectors and “immigrant traders” incubate [the turtles] in hatcheries. Hatchlings can sell on the international market for $39-$56 each.
This wasn’t always the case. Papuans once hunted the eggs solely for food, in numbers that were more sustainable. But the high market prices have made the turtle much more valuable as a commodity than a food source. Furthermore, turtle traders are enticing Papuan communities with expensive turtle-hunting gear, like motorboats.
The pig-nosed are one of a number of turtles that are in danger because of their exotic attributes. Other sought-after species include the Indian star tortoise, the black spotted turtle, the radiated tortoise and the ploughshare tortoise.
The vast, illegal trade in wildlife operates for a number of reasons. It begins with a basic lack of oversight and regulation, “meaning no one is watching it or there is corruption going on or papers are being forged”, Chng explains. Some animals, such as the pig-nosed turtle, aren’t supposed to be traded if they are collected from the wild. But often, a trader will say that an animal is “captive bred”, meaning its parents were born in captivity as well. The problem is that the traders sometimes lie.
So what’s a conscientious consumer to do? “Ask for permits,” Chng says. “If it’s legally traded, the pet shop should have permits for the import of the species.”
Still, even if proper documentation is provided, it doesn’t mean there aren’t consequences. “For every turtle that they buy at the pet shop,” Chng says, “there are many dead turtles along the way.”
To avoid the extinction of the species, Chris Shepherd, regional director of Traffic in Southeast Asia, is calling for “urgent enforcement action in Papua”. Governments must increase the number of inspectors along the international points of trade chain in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, mainland China and Hong Kong, he says. Shepherd also advocates for international public awareness campaigns and “efforts to address socio-economic issues that drive the illegal trade in this distinctive but imperiled species”.
Christina Russo is a freelance reporter and public radio producer covering animals and wildlife.

You Need To Know About These Facts About Green Sea Turtle

One of the larger species of sea turtles is the Green Sea Turtle. It can be up to 400 pounds and as long as 5 ½ feet. They are a common tourist attraction that people love to observe when they come to Hawaii during certain times of the year. This is a big part of the economic development there as well as educating people about the value of these sea turtles.

Many people are surprised that this sea turtle has such a name because it isn't green. It is more of a dark brown or olive color. The name for it comes from the fact that it has fat that is green in color. However, the top of the shell can be various shades of orange and red too. The coloring will actually change at different points in their life. The body of this sea turtle is large and the carapace is tear drop shaped. They have very large flippers that look like paddles.

The snout of this sea turtle is very short and it doesn't have a hooked beak. The lower jaw has a serrated element to it. On the surface of the head there is a pair of pre-frontal scales. The carapace offers five central scutes and then four pairs of lateral scutes. The underside of it also has four pairs of scutes.

The sub tropic and tropical regions are home to the Green Sea Turtle. The largest population of them is believed to be around Hawaii. They are also known to live in Asia, Australia, and the waters around Mexico.

They are known to migrate long distances – even thousands of miles – to find food, for mating, and to reach their nesting ground destination. They tend to stay closer to the shore than other sea turtles so they are more observed at the surface of the water and out of the water. They are known to go to the shore during the day and just soak up the sun. There isn't a great deal of other information well known about their behaviors.

The young Green Sea Turtles feed on meat, and will do so for about the first years of life. Then they will start to eat various forms of plant life include sea grass and algae. By the time they are fully mature, they are going to switch to a diet that is only plant related. They will start to eat much more though as they switch to plants because they aren't as filling as meat. They do need to get air about every 5 minutes, but still they are known to be deep divers to get food.

For the Green Seat Turtle, mating won't occur until they are 15 or more years of age. Usually, that time frame is more dependent on their size than on age. The larger they get, the more likely they are to start mating. Males will return to the location where they were born to find a mate annually.

This could prove to be a short distance or a very significant distance. Females may end up at the location where they were born but they tend to have several breeding locations that they can pick from. Some females go to the same location year after year but that isn't always the case. The females don't mate annually, only ever 2 to 4 years. Once the females are ready to lay their eggs, they go to the shore and they will dig a nest to place them in. She may offer from 100 to 200 eggs and then cover them up to protect them from predators and the elements.

The Basic Knowledge About Aldabra Giant Tortoise

The Aldabra giant tortoise is a species of giant tortoise found in the islands of Aldabra Atoll in the Seychelles. It is one of the largest tortoises and is rated as vulnerable by IUCN.

Physical Features

The Aldabra giant tortoise is the largest tortoise, sometimes exceeding a weight of 355 kilograms. Males are bigger than females. An average male weighs about 280 kilograms and has a carapace length of 47 inches (120 cm). Females weigh about 150 kilograms and measure 35 inches (88 cm). These tortoises resemble the Galapagos giant tortoise. They have a carapace which is brown or tan in color. Their carapace is shaped like a dome. Aldabra giant tortoises have very long necks which help the to feed on branches more than a meter high.

Life Span

The Aldabra giant tortoise has the longest life span of any animal. There was one specimen which died in the Kolkata in 2006. It was named Adwaita and was born in 1756. It lived for about 250 years before it died.

Distribution

The Aldabra giant tortoise is found in the island of Aldabra Atoll in the Seychelles. The atoll has the largest population of these animals, with an estimated 152,000 individuals. They are also found in Mauritius, Zanzibar and Rodrigues. they are found in grasslands, scrubs and mangroves.

Diet

The Aldabra giant tortoise is mainly a herbivore, eating stems of woody plants, leaves and grasses. they sometimes eat small invertebrates and will even eat bodies of dead tortoises. In captivity, they are known to eat fruits such as apples and bananas.

The Largest Hard-Shelled Sea Turtle In The World

Loggerheads are the largest hard-shelled sea turtle in the world. Leatherbacks are bigger, but are part of the soft-shell family of sea turtles. Loggerheads have a broad muscular head, powerful jaws, and have a distinct reddish-brown shell, which is called a carapace. The carapace is elongated and heart shaped when seen from above. The adult shell is rather smooth, and the sides become slightly serrated as they narrow toward the tail. The paddle-like limbs are each equipped with a pair of claws. The loggerhead is usually various shades of brown; from its reddish-brown to dark brown carapace as well as upper surfaces of the head and limbs, which are chestnut to dark brown also. The underbelly and the edges of its limbs, are light yellow to tan, and the scales on the head have a creamy yellow edge and a darker center. Telling the difference between a male and a female loggerhead is quite easy, males have a tail that extends well beyond the shell, where as the female’s is much shorter.

Adult loggerheads average three feet in length, and weigh approximately 250 pounds. For perspective- the largest recorded loggerhead had a 7 ½ ft. shell and weighed in at an astounding 1,190 lbs. Unfortunately, many loggerheads, and sea turtles in general are poached or caught in fishing nets never able to realize their full size. Today’s loggerhead is much smaller than the loggerhead of old.
Loggerheads have an enormous range and are found in most tropical and subtropical seas. They do not occur in the more frigid waters of the world. In Costa Rica, loggerheads are found on the Caribbean side, never making it to the Pacific coast of the country. In Costa Rica, the female loggerhead nests on the Caribbean coast preferring the southern part of the coast, but are periodically seen as far north as Tortuguero National Park. They frequent coral reefs and shipwrecks, seeming to prefer coastal habitats and inland water bodies, but they will also travel hundreds of miles out to sea.
Males and females mate in the water in close proximity to their nesting sites. The male uses its massive claws to attach itself to the female. It’s not unusual for mating to last three hours.
Adult female loggerheads will often return, sometimes covering thousands of miles, to the beach where they hatched, to lay their eggs. Normally taking place at high tide and during the night, the female will lay her large clutch of eggs, typically between 65 to 200 eggs, in a deep hole in the sand which she will cover after she has laid all her eggs. A female can nest several times during the breeding season, with 12-15 day intervals. Hatchlings appear about 7 to 10 weeks after the eggs are laid. Since eggs are abandoned after being laid, the young hatchlings are on their own. When they emerge from the nest they immediately head to the sea. This trek is survival of the fittest, and most will never reach 1 year old.
Loggerheads are carnivores. They feed on shrimp, crab, jellyfish, mollusks and squid but have also been known to occasionally munch on seaweed and sargassum.
Luckily for the loggerhead, their meat is not as highly valued as that of other marine turtles, but unfortunately, their eggs are. Poaching is a problem. In Costa Rica, the on-going development of nesting beaches for tourism as well as shrimp nets, in which they drown, take a serious toll on these magnificent creatures.
It’s interesting to note that a loggerhead sea turtel can travel up to speeds of 15 mph.
Pollution, shrimping, and development of nesting beaches are a major reason the loggerhead has been on the endangered species list since 1978.

Experience A Nautical Adventure As You View A Beautiful Abundance Of Corals

Explorer the underwater world of the Great Barrier Reef in air-conditioned comfort on our Semi-Submarine… without even getting wet! Seated below water level, passengers are treated to a divers view of the coral reef and marine life with informative commentary by the crew and see the lively fish feeding. This vessel seats 27 passengers and cruises for 30 minutes. Don’t miss this exciting tour during your time at Green Island.

However, these so-called single corals are not the reef-builders responsible for the large Caribbean reefs that form critical habitat for various species, while also performing other important roles in nature.

"While single corals may have the chance to survive … it would be very different from the coral reefs we know today and that we depend on today," said Adina Paytan, a study researcher with the University of California, Santa Cruz, who presented her research here Wednesday (Dec. 7) at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union.

Paytanand her colleagues found three species of solitary corals growing in the relatively acidic waters flowing from natural springs along the coast of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. Because of its chemical properties, this water was thought to be inhospitable to corals. Submarine excursions allow tourists to see coral formations and exotic fish without having to snorkel or dive.

Submarines can accommodate up to 45 people and dive to a depth of 70ft. The bigger ones are operated by two pilots and have large reinforced glass windows.

Egypt's Red Sea resorts, especially Sharm el-Sheikh, are well known for their white sand beaches and rich underwater life.

But in December 2010, a spate of shark attacks killed one German woman and injured four other tourists, forcing the closure of Sharm el-Sheikh's beaches for several weeks.

More than a million Britons visited Egypt last year, despite the political violence which rocked the country.

The biggest danger posed to tourists in the Sinai is terrorism – there have been three bomb attacks on the peninsula since 2004, with British nationals killed or injured in each.

The most recent occurred in April 2006 in the resort town of Dahab, which is less developed than Sharm el-Sheikh and popular with backpackers.