Bog Turtle

The Bog Turtle is native to the Eastern United States, ranging from northeast Georgia to Massachusetts and western New York. The species lives in two disjunct management units, northern and southern, separated by ~270 miles (436 km). Although called the Bog Turtle, the species lives in stream-, spring-, and seep-fed fens, sedge meadows, sphagnum bogs, […]

Southern River Terrapin

In parts of this species’ range, the adult turtles are protected from consumption as “haram” by Islamic law, the predominate religion of Malaysia. This haram however does not protect the eggs of the species, and over collection of the eggs has resulted in a massive reduction in the recruitment of new turtles into the population. […]

Swinhoe’s Giant Softshell Turtle

Nubian Flapshell Turtle

Once found in a broad range of equatorial Africa, this species is now only known to be found in the White Nile river. Heavy fishing in this area results in this species being caught in bycatch and consumed locally. The knowledge we now have of a persisting population of Nubian Flapshell Turtles in northern Uganda […]

Burmese Star Tortoise

In Myanmar, in the late 1990s, the Burmese Star Tortoise was on the brink of extinction. Avidly sought for the wildlife trade, and with relentless removal from the wild, within a decade this tortoise species had almost completely disappeared from its native habitat. By the mid-2000s, it was considered functionally extinct in the wild. Today, […]

Ploughshare Tortoise

The Ploughshare Tortoise (Astrochelys yniphora) or angonoka, is widely recognized as one of the world’s rarest and most endangered tortoises and is now restricted to the Baly Bay National Park in northwestern Madagascar. The historic decline of this beautiful tortoise was primarily due to loss of habitat due to burning, but today the illegal wildlife […]

Pancake Tortoise

This unique tortoise has an unusually thin, flat, and flexible, shell. This gives it the ability to shelter in its narrow, rock-crevice homes. It also allows for speed, which this species demonstrates by running away from threats, instead of sheltering in a tough shell like many tortoise species. Given this physiology, it also comes as […]

Magdalena River Turtle

The Magdalena River Turtle (Podocnemis lewyana) is endemic to Colombia where it is restricted to two rivers in the northwest, the Magdalena and the Sinú. It is Critically Endangered due primarily to overhunting and loss of nesting habitat. Two community-based conservation groups on the Sinú are committed to saving this turtle. In the community of […]

Central American River Turtle

The Hicatee is a fully aquatic species that spends nearly 100% of its time in water. It is so adapted for an aqueous life that the Hicatee can barely move on land, let alone even hold its head up. They are primarily active during nocturnal and crepuscular hours, spending the day sleeping in deeper holes […]

Asian Giant Tortoise

The Asian Giant Tortoise is the largest tortoise in Asia, growing up to 61 cm (24 in) in shell length and weighing up to 35 kg (77 lbs.). It is considered to be of one of the oldest tortoise lineages in the world. Native to tropical and subtropical hill forests of Bangladesh, Brunei, India, Indonesia, […]

Flattened Musk Turtle

The Flattened Musk Turtle (Sternotherus depressus) is endemic to Alabama, meaning it’s only found here. In fact, the Flattened Musk Turtle is the only reptile endemic to the state of Alabama. This small turtle featuring a flat carapace, or top shell, lives in clean, clear, free-flowing streams and rivers of the upper Warrior River Basin. […]

McCord’s Box Turtle

McCord’s Box Turtles were only described as a species as recently as 1988 based on imported specimens from Hong Kong; its true origins remained a mystery for two decades until scientists finally found their habitat. Although never a common species, the McCord’s Box Turtle was, for at least one farmer, common on their land. This […]