Well, it seems like the terrapins living in the Lighthouse Center's canal knew it was their special day, and popped up for a visit/ bask! Thanks to Pola for this great picture!
Sure enough, it seems fitting that our first terrapin sighting of 2012 falls on World Turtle Day! Of course, every day is a reason to celebrate turtles, but here are five things you can keep in mind:
- Never buy a turtle from a pet shop, as it increases demand from the wild.
- Never remove turtles from the wild unless they are sick or injured.
- If a turtle is crossing a busy street, pick it up and send it in the same direction it was going — if you try to make it go back, it will turn right around again.
- Report cruelty or illegal sales of turtles to your local animal control shelter.
- Report the sale of any turtle of any kind less than four inches. This is illegal everywhere in the U.S.
These are recommendations from American Tortoise Rescue. Mother Nature Network also wrote a great story about world turtle day which you can find here. Our friend the diamondback terrapin even got a cameo in the article!
World Turtle Day or not, we're very excited to see that Barnegat Bay's terrapins are ready for summer to begin. Soon enough we'll be finding them on nesting beaches (which also means they'll be crossing roads, so drive safely!) and collecting them in our traps. We hope you can come out and join us for what is sure to be a great field season:0)
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