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NTTTS meetings in the New Year to be announced soon.
Wood Turtles Cross the Tracks—Thanks to Michael Musnick:
NYTTS members will recall Michael Musnick’s talk last year on his wood turtle study in Putnam and Dutches counties, New York. In one of his populations he found three female turtles dead from heat exposure after being trapped between railroad tracks. After bringing the problem to the attention of the Metropolitan Transit Authority, his suggestion to construct simple “escape ramps” to enable the turtles to cross the rails was taken to heart. It’s no small task to persuade an agency like the MTA to take action, and Michael is to be highly commended! See his new Web site, including a video clip of wood turtles crossing the tracks: www.woodturtlesite.com.
Reptile Blog by Frank Indiviglio:
Frank Indiviglio, former Staten Island Zoo and Bronx Zoo keeper, and long-time friend of NYTTS, writes numersous articles for That Pet Place, especially for That Reptile Blog as well as others. About 130 articles have been posted to date, covering pet care, natural history, Frank’s own experiences, and breaking research news. Frank writes all the articles for the Reptile Blog and for the Avian Blog, as well as many for the Fish Blog. Turtle folks may go directly to Frank’s collection of Turtle and Tortoise articles. Readers can leave comments, ask questions, and share observations. See also Frank’s biography of experiences.
Radio Program on Turtle Conservation:
“Regional, National and International Turtle Conservation: Why, Where and How” — Eco-Logic, an environmental radio program by Ken Gale, on Radio Station WBAI, 99.5 FM (in the New York City metropolitan area), was broadcast on December 2. Interviewed on the program was Lorri Cramer of NYTTS. Hear the entire program online (interview takes place after preliminary announcements).
One of the World’s Rarest Turtles Rescued in Vietnam:
On Wednesday the 26th of November 2008 a local fisherman from Son Tram Commune, Son Tay district, Hanoi, caught a large soft-shell turtle weighing 69 kg (151.8 pounds) and measuring 90 cm (35.4 inches) in length. The giant soft-shell turtle was identified as a Swinhoe’s soft-shell turtle (Rafetus swinhoei). Only four living examples are known to remain in the world. Two of the surviving turtles are in a Chinese zoo, another in Hoan Kiem Lake in the center of Hanoi, and the last wild example of the species occupies Dong Mo Lake in Son Tay district of Hanoi. See report from the Asian Turtle Conservation Network (PDF).
220 Million-year old Fossil Turtle Discovered in China:
Paleontologists have discovered a fossil turtle, now the oldest turtle known, in China. Distinctive features of this turtle were the presence of a plastron but no carapace, and the fact that it had teeth. Previously, the oldest known turtle fossil was Proganochelys, discovered in Germany by Museum of Natural History’s Eugene Gaffney. It dated to 210 million years ago, but its carapace was fully formed. See the BBC News report Fossils Reveal How the Turtle Got its Shell. Listen to the November 26th NPR report online, Fossil Turtle Yields Clues to its Evolution.
NYTTS is pleased to announce the Florida Turtles Natural History Tour —
Conducted by turtle biologist and conservationist George L. Heinrich,
June 14–20, 2009.
Join other NYTTS members in a weeklong field trip in Florida. Activities include canoeing and snorkeling on spring-fed rivers with Suwannee cooters, loggerhead musk turtles, and Barbour’s map turtles; watching marine turtles nesting on a central Florida beach; and hiking in an endangered longleaf pine ecosystem, home of many rare and threatened species, including the gopher tortoise.
Download information flyer: PDF version or MS Word version.
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| Enjoy a leisurely canoeing and snorkeling trip on a crystal-clear, spring-fed river. |
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See photos from the Annual Turtle and Tortoise Show, held June 21, 2008.
See information and photos from Seminar 2008, held April 12, 2008.
Children’s Books About Turtles: Turtle Rehab Program director Lorri Cramer has assembled a list of books about turtles recommended for children. See the Children’s Book List.
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Membership
Membership in the New York Turtle and Tortoise Society, which includes subscriptions to NYTTS publications and discounts to books and other sale items, is open to all interested persons (children are welcome to join under the supervision of their parents or guardians) for an annual fee of $25. Please send check, payable to NYTTS Membership, to NYTTS, P.O. Box 878, Orange, NJ 07051-0878.
NYTTS News Group E-mail Service. Society members may now subscribe to the NYTTSnews e-mail service. This is an important means of communicating with our members. To add your name, enter your e-mail address in the space at the left and click the Join Now! button. To learn more about the NYTTSnews group, please visit groups.yahoo.com/group/NYTTSNews.
Questions? Send your e-mail inquiries to the following addresses:
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