Rosario Dawson's Turtle Joke

Perhaps you were already in love with Rosario Dawson due to her acting career, but did you know that her favorite joke is about turtles?  I just found out.

Rosario Dawson from Turtle Conservancy on Vimeo.

 

Loggerheads Hatching in Queensland

At Mon Repos Conservation Park in in Queensland, last year's hatchlings were badly beat down by Cyclone Oswald, but this year they are facing only the usual mountain of risks.  The thousands of loggerhead eggs laid on the beach have begun to hatch.  Let's hope that more than the usual .001% survive to help make up for last year's losses.

Freezing in Florida

Everyone knows that the polar vortex had dumped an unusual abundance of winter upon parts of North America.  What many don't know is that the sea turtle population is also suffering due to the harsh season.  Green sea turtles living in the Florida panhandle seem to have been hit the hardest as they are unable to self-regulate their body temperature as effectively as other ocean dwelling mammals.  Dozens of in-shock and deceased turtles were found on the beach after the most recent storm.  If you are in Florida and stumble upon a suffering sea turtle, please call the FWC Wildlife Alert hotline at 888-404-3922 to give them their best chance at survival.

Fisherman Survives Thirteen Months Adrift At Sea

Although I know it is part of the native cuisine in many countries, I am opposed to the idea of eating turtle meat since the species is endangered.  Should the population be spurred by a rapid growth rate, I could concede to allowing countries where the meat was first cherished historically to enjoy a limited supply.  Until then, it will take stories like this one, where a fisherman was found alive after 13 months adrift at sea, to make me say (while cringing), "How fortunate that he was able to fortify his health by catching and eating turtles." 

Robot Turtles - A Game That Teaches

This new game helps your preschooler learn coding while they pretend to be a turtle. What's not to love? 

Pokey's Palate

When Pokey and I first became a family, she had a fairly broad palate. It was my limited knowledge which restricted the variety of her diet then. She loved strawberries and melon, would nibble on bananas, and gulped cottage cheese whenever she was allowed the treat. After Pokey returned from going walkabout (a story for another time), I discovered she had developed a fickle pallate. She would only eat night crawlers (worms), cottage cheese, and the occasional snail or cricket. This has gone on for years. Although I continued to offer her the nutrients the vet said she needed, she wouldn't bite.

Last week, thanks to a new turtle loving friend, I discovered the answer. If I put at least three ingredients in Pokey's bowl, she will likely try them all. Today she is eating defrosted organic berries (raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, cherry mix) topped with Can o Snails. Yum!

Conservation and Farming Don't Mix

It has been revealed that there is "much room for improvement" in the way the turtles are cared for at the Cayman Island turtle farm. All I can think is, who believed a farm could sell turtle meat for food AND save the species at the same time? Not me. 

Inside the Cayman Islands' sea turtle tourist trap