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The New York Turtle and Tortoise SocietyThe New York Turtle and Tortoise Society, Inc., is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to the conservation, preservation of habitat, and the promotion of proper husbandry and captive propagation of turtles and tortoises. The Society emphasizes the education of its members and the public in all areas relevant to the appreciation of these unique animals. Donations to the Society are tax deductible and
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Next NYTTS Meeting: Sunday, January 29, 2012, 11:00 a.m., The Arsenal in Central Park, New Yok City
 Presented by Maurice Rodrigues from the Turtle Conservancy and the Behler Chelonian Center, this video will take us on a journey through Uruguay and Argentina where we search for the native turtles and tortoises of the region. We travel along the scenic coastlines of Uruguay to the vast deserts and mountains of Patagonia and ultimately, to the hot impenetrable forests of the northern Chaco. The focus of the trip was to study the Argentine land tortoise’s ecology, status, and distribution. There has been confusion in the scientific community as to how many distinct subspecies exist. and we were there to find answers to that question. We also found and documented the spiny-neck turtle (Acanthochelys spixii) and the Chaco side-neck turtle (Acanthochelys pallidipectoris) in the field. See video trailer and directions. NYTTS Announces Seminar 2012 Saturday, March 10, 2012, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m., The Arsenal in Central Park, New Yok City Pre-registration now available. See detailed information and registration.
 “That Reptile Blog” by Frank Indiviglio Frank Indiviglio, former Staten Island Zoo and Bronx Zoo keeper, and long-time friend of NYTTS, writes numerous articles for That Pet Place, especially for That Reptile Blog as well as others. Read Frank’s latest post: 
Gulf Oil Spill Update — Sea Turtles and Other Wildlife Still Face Threats Frank is pictured left with an African spurred tortoise (Geolchelone sulcata). Go to index of blog articles. 
The Plight of Frogs and the Impact of the Frog Leg TradeIn the USA alone 1.1 billion frogs and in the European Union 2.3 billion frogs are imported for the frog leg trade every year. How long can this level of exploitation be sustained? Read Frank’s shocking article: Frog Leg Trade Kills Billions of Frogs Annually and Threatens Species’ Survival. The Latest Fad in China Millions of young African Clawed Frogs are being colored with industrial dyes and sold as short-lived “novelties.” Read Frank’s report on this latest round of abuse: Amphibian Abuse — Neon Dyed Frogs Wildly Popular in Chinese Pet Stores  Populations worldwide are in serious decline. NYTTS salutes Dr. Kerry Kriger and Save the Frogs for its vital conservation work.In the News  Latest Snapperfest UpdateThe World Animal Awareness Society has compiled a comprehensive summary of videos and documentation of the efforts to stop the Snapperfest event: Snapperfest Update: January 2012. See Petition Filed to Stop Abuse of Turtles at "Snapperfest" Following Undercover Investigation of Cruelty. Sign petition to protest the event: Stop Snapperfest 2012! Go to the NYTTS page on this abusive festival: NYTTS Snapperfest Report.  Legendary Kansas Herpetologist Joe Collins Dies Joe Collins, who founded the Center for North American Herpetology and was a former instructor at the University of Kansas, died Saturday of a heart attack in Florida. He was 72. See obituary, Kansas City Star. See video tribute (YouTube).  Southeast Regional Sea Turtle Meeting will be held February 1–4, 2012, on Jekyll Island, Georgia. It will highlight marine turtle activities in the southeastern United States from Virginia through Texas. The meeting will be held at the Jekyll Island Convention Campus and will be hosted by the Georgia Sea Turtle Center (GSTC). See the meeting Web site.  Turtle Dogs! — North Carolina resident John Rucker’s Boyken spaniels (Buster and Sparky left) have a special talent: they can search and find box turtles in the field and safely return them to their owner. For a decade, Rucker’s dogs have assisted with research and educational projects throughout the country. Thanks to the keen noses and soft, gentle mouths of his canines, hundreds of turtles have been saved from the treads of bulldozers.NYTTS members Bill Cermack and Kay Martin brought to our attention an article about this amazing turtle-hunting dog team in the November issue of AKC Family Dog. Read the full story online — Shell Games by Penny Leigh. Photo: John Rucker — www.turtledogs.org; the site has excellent videos of Rucker’s dogs hunting turtles in the field: www.turtledogs.org/videos  Chinese Vendors Selling Live Fish and Turtles in Plastic Bags as Keychains — Widely reported on the Web this past spring is a new fad in China: live hatchling turtles and fish permanently sealed in a plastic baggy, sold at subway entrances and train stations as keychains!NYTTS member Michael Musnick sent in a link reporting this bizarre form of animal cruelty: “A repugnant way to amuse oneself and torture a baby turtle at the same time.” Most would agree. The vendors make the preposterous claim that the colored water is a “nutrient-rich” solution that allows the live creatures sealed inside the seven-centimeter bags to live for a few months.  Farmers Find Rewards in Helping Bog Turtles by Deborah WeisbergNew York Times “Green: A Blog About Energy and the Environment” November 14, 2011 The future of the bog turtle, North America’s tiniest reptile and one of its rarest, is in the hands of private landowners who are being given incentives to help it recover, wildlife biologists say. Photo: Deborah Weissberg 100,000 Turtles Sacrificed in Ritual Slaughter to Celebrate Hindu Festival MailOnline.com, October 27, 20011. (Article has graphic images.)
 Five Populations of Loggerhead Sea Turtles Get Full Protection — The northern loggerhead sea turtle is finally getting full protection under the Endangered Species Act. In response to two legal petitions by the Center for Biological Diversity and allies, this week the National Marine Fisheries Service designated the North Pacific loggerhead sea turtle “endangered” under the Act—upgrading its status from the less-protective classification of “threatened.” The rare and ancient marine reptile, which spends much of its time off the coasts of Mexico and California, has declined by at least 80 percent over the past decade due to fisheries bycatch, climate change, oil spills, and other threats. See Loggerhead Sea Turtle Protection Modified, Los Angeles Times, September 19, 2011. Update September 9: Court Approves Historic Agreement to Speed Endangered Species Act Protection for 757 Imperiled Species A federal judge has just approved the Center for Biological Diversity’s landmark agreement to move 757 of the country’s most imperiled, least protected species toward protection. The judge’s signature today makes the historic agreement the Center reached with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service official and legally binding. It’s the latest step in a decade-long effort to get vital federal protection for hundreds of America’s most vulnerable plants and animals. Read Court Approves Historic Agreement to Speed Endangered Species Act Protection. 
However — New “Recovery” Plan Weakens Desert Tortoise SafeguardsAccording to an August 29 Press-Enterprise article, instead of upgrading protections for the Mojave’s desert tortoise, the species’ new federal recovery plan makes matters worse for the ancient, threatened reptile. Until the new plan was released last Friday, the tortoise’s recovery plan—a document laying out steps and criteria for removing the species from the endangered list—hadn’t been updated since 1994. And now, while tortoise populations continue to crash, the revised plan fails to address some of the most dire threats to the species, including livestock grazing, off-road vehicles, nonnative plants, climate change and energy development. See Recovery Plan Issued for Desert Tortoise.  Mass Turtle Deaths on Great Barrier Reef Have Scientists Worried NYTTS member Jeff Sherman sent us this July 25 link, reporting that scientists were struggling to understand why the northern coast of Queensland, Australia, became littered with sick and dying turtles and dugongs. More than 400 dead animals were discovered along the coastline near the Great Barrier Reef, and experts believe hundreds more animals could have perished in remote areas or simply sunk to the bottom of the sea. Go to full story. 
Latest Update: Vietnam’s Legendary Turtle Returned to Hanoi Lake For three months after its capture, the giant softshelled turtle of Hanoi’s Hoan Kiem Lake underwent extensive treatment and rehabilitation while the lake was drained and cleaned. After a remarkable recovery, the turtle was released back into the lake in early June. Go to story and background.  Bronx Zoo and New York Aquarium Funding Saved!City Hall recently voted to save funding for the Bronx Zoo and New York Aquarium, ending a months-long threat to these parks and the small businesses and communities that rely on them. Together, our supporters (you!) generated an amazing 173,065 letters and petition signatures to City Hall in support of this funding. You gave City Hall the push it needed to do the right thing for New York’s cultural organizations. It’s important to let them know that you noticed and appreciated their work. Send them a quick note of thanks for restoring this funding!  WCS Assesses Health of a NY State Bog Turtle PoplulationNYTTS member Jeff Sherman sent us this this link (May 10) from the Wall Street Journal on an expedition by the Wildlife Conservation Society to Dutchess County to assess the health of a bog turtle population. Read Deep in a Dutchess Fen by Ralph Gardner, Jr. Photo: Mae Ryan for The Wall Street Journal  Effort to Protect Bog Turtle Habitat in New YorkNYTTS member Frank Indiviglio has passed along this link (April 30) from the National Wildlife Federation. Now before the New York State legislature is critical legislation that would protect all of New York’s waters. Go to Protect Waters for New York’s Bog Turtles.  Order Online! — NYTTS bumper stickers and turtle food (Turtle Brittle and AquaMax) can now be ordered online. Payment by credit card through PayPal, or by check. Go to the NYTTS Online Order Form. T-shirts coming soon!Notice to New York City Residents—The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation now has a 24-hour tips line to report violations of protected species regulations. It is prohibited to sell any New York State species of reptiles and amphibians. If you see any New York species for sale in pet shops or markets, please call 1-800-847-7332. Report the name and address of the business, and the animals you observed for sale. Turtle Care Video from the Mid-Atlantic Turtle & Tortoise Society NYTTS Red-eared Slider Adoption Policy Recent NYTTS Meetings and Regional Turtle News NYTTS Member Matt Hybel Hatches 47 Asian Brown Tortoises! See story and photos. Remembering Stephanie Thompson ~ July 26, 2011 — Read “Stephanie Thompson — An Appreciation” by Michael Sherwin, a longtime friend and early NYTTS member, as well as a slide show of snapshots. 37th Annual Turtle and Tortoise Show, June 4, 2011 — See Winners’ List. Bern Tryon, Well-known Bog Turtle Scientist, Dies, May 6, 2011 — See obituaries. Urban Wildlife Apprciation Day 2011 — On Saturday, April 7, 2011, NYTTS participated for the second year in the New York City Urban Wildlife Appreciation Day, held on the Cloisters Lawn in Fort Tryon Park. See slide show of the event. Seminar 2011 — the 26th NYTTS Annual Seminar, was held in the Arsenal Gallery in Central Park, New York City. Review speakers and presentations. Papa Tortuga at NYTTS — On February 13, Fernando, affectionately known as “Papa Tortuga” (Father Turtle), and his team from the Tecolutla Turtle Preservation Project, presented a documentary and lecture on Fernando’s many years of work protecting nests and hatchlings. See more of Papa Tortuga at NYTTS. Remembering JoAnn Vacchiano — Longtime NYTTS member and devoted turtle person JoAnn Vachiano passed away on January 20, 2011. See photo and remembrances. 36th Annual Turtle and Tortoise Show, June 12, 2010 — See Winners’ List and Photos. Turtle Poaching in Prospect Lake, Brooklyn — Late in May 2010, lakeside residents rescued a turtle from a makeshift trap in Prospect Park. See story. (Back in November 2009, NYTTS volunteers joined the NYC Parks Department fish and turtle rescue when a section of the lake was being drained for shore reconstrucion.) Urban Wildlife Apprciation Day — On , Saturday, April 10, 2010, NYTTS staffed a table with turtles and information for the public at the New York City Urban Wildlife Appreciation Day, held on the Cloisters Lawn in Fort Tryon Park. See slide show of the event. In Memoriam: John Thorbjarnarson, well-known Wildlife Conservation Society herpetologist, died of malaria in India on February 14, 2010. See A Life in Conservation by Chuck Schaffer. Fish and Turtle Rescue in Propect Park — In November 2009, NYTTS volunteers joined the Natural Resounces Crew in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, in their fish and turtle rescue project while a small portion of the northeast end of Prospect Park Lake was drained by the Parks Department in preparation for reconstruction of the shoreline. See more information and slides of that effort. Florida Turtle Tour: Topic of November 1st (2009) meeting: — NYTTS members who participated in turtle biologist George Heinrich’s Florida Turtles Natural History Tour the previous summer shared their experience with slides and stories. See more information and slide show of last summer’s tour. Turtle: The Incredible Journey — Long-time NYTTS member Michael Sherwin has alerted us to the production of a new film, Turtle: The Incredible Journey, from saveourseas.com, opening this fall in Europe and in 2010 in the U.S. It is a documentary that follows the life of a single loggerhead sea turtle from hatchling to adulthood. For more information go to Turtle: The Incredible Journey. Web site includes a high-definition trailer. The Asian Turtle Crisis: An Update — Two videos taken 13 years apart show that little changed in the markets in Guangzhou, China, from 1997 to 2009. Compare the videos. Clarifying Regulations in New York State for all Native Species: The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation now requires a permit to keep any species of reptile and amphibian native to New York State. This includes all twelve species of New York turtles. The mechanism by which owners of New York turtles may acquire permits is being investigated. Read and download an overview of the new regulations.
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