Hi Girls^^ did you know that every May 23^rd, the world celebrates Turtle Day? This is Beat Boy favorites day and we are all super excited of making plan what we want to do to celebrate this awesome day

Background

World Turtle Day was initiated for the first time in 2001 by the American Tortoise Rescue Organization, a nonprofit organization with the goal of protecting the species of tortoises and turtles based in California.

Why May?

May was chosen to celebrate the World Turtle Day because it is one of the busiest months for turtles! It is the time of the year when they emerge from winter hibernation and start their search for mates and nesting areas to lay their eggs

Turtles are awesome!

Did you know that turtles have been on earth for more than 200 million years? That makes turtles one of the oldest and most primitive groups of reptiles on earth!

They are also unique because they have special shells that act as a shield; the upper shell is called the “carapace”, while the lower shell is called “the plastron” Turtles can protect themselves by pulling their bodies inside their shells.

Based on their primary habitat turtles can be categorized into 3 categories; fresh water turtles, tortoises, and sea turtles Several species of turtles can live to be over 100 years of age. One Indian Ocean Giant tortoise that was captured as an adult, estimated to be 50 years old, then lived another 152 years in captivity.

Turtles come in a huge variety of sizes. The smallest one is the 10 cm Bog turtle and the largest one is the 680 kg Leatherback turtle. And some turtles can live up to a year without food! How amazing is that Girls?!

It’s time for action!

The turtle population worldwide is currently decreasing as a result of the destruction of their habitat from development, the demand for turtles for food, and the black market pet trade Mortality rates for turtle eggs are high due to predation by ghost crabs, raccoons, and foxes.

If we don’t do something to stop this, in the next 50 years, turtles will be nothing more than animal’s of our past… printed in school books and only left captured on film

Through the celebration of World Turtle Day, we are reminded to always respect and do our best to save this beautiful and the unique animals that we have the privilege of sharing it with.

A few things you can do to save the turtles are:

• Never buy turtles or tortoises from pet shops as it increases demand from the wild
• Never remove turtles or tortoises from the wild unless they are sick or injured
• If a tortoise is crossing a busy street, pick it up and send it in the same direction as it was going, if you try to make it go back, it will turn right around again
• Report any cruelty or illegal sales of turtles and tortoises
• Relocate the turtle eggs, because most are laid to close to the tide line and if not relocated will be lost

Help the world to save the turtles before its too late Girls Together we can make a huge effort to help the turtles!!!

Love, Summer ❤