May 23rd - World Turtle Day

[Scheherazade]

http://www.btlsfan.com/forum/images/smilies/turtle3.gifSince the World Turtle Day is upon us, http://www.btlsfan.com/forum/images/smilies/turtle3.gif

I think we should remember the turtles and tortoises of the world in the most becoming manner!

Please feel free to change your avatars for the day and share poems/stories/anecdotes here in this thread!


More information on World Turtle Day.
(http://www.hsus.org/wildlife/a_closer_look_at_wildlife/turtles_and_tortoises/celebrate_world_turtle_day.html)

[papayahed]

Already?? It seems like just last year it was turtle day. I'll have to dig out my decorations and hat..

[Nightshade]

Is it may the 23rd already?:eek:
Ive lost 2 days...and Im behind schedule!!:eek2:

[Scheherazade]

Yeah, it's caught me by surprise as well. Haven't even written my cards yet!

Luckily my avatar is ready!

[Niamh]

I'm going to change it now, just incase i forget! (esp seeing as i missed steal the avy day! :( )

[Shalot]

turtles are scary.

[sprinks]

Yay... turtles. I shall celebrate it tomorrow at school, when it is actually the 23rd here :D

[Scheherazade]

Happy Turtle Day, everyone!



~ Living Tenderly ~

My body a rounded stone
with a pattern of smooth seams.
My head a short snake,
retractive, projective.
My legs come out of their sleeves
or shrink within,
and so does my chin.
My eyelids are quick clamps.
My back is my roof.
I am always at home.
I travel where my house walks.
It is a smooth stone.
It floats within the lake,
or rests in the dust.
My flesh lives tenderly
inside its bone.

May Swenson

[Nightshade]

Oi! you stole the avy I wanted to use...*sigh* well Ill have to use another, i guess

[papayahed]

Happy Turtle Day

:banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:


http://www.123greetings.com/events/turtle_day/turtle1.html

[vheissu]

Happy Turtle Day!!


Haven't seen anyone with this avatar around litnet. It's one of the sea-turtles from Finding Nemo, right? Can't remember its name though....

[papayahed]

Interesting Turtle Facts
Veterinary & Aquatic Services Department, Drs. Foster & Smith, Inc.


Some interesting facts about turtles and tortoises:
Turtles have been on the earth for more than 200 million years. They evolved before mammals, birds, crocodiles, snakes, and even lizards.

The earliest turtles had teeth and could not retract their heads, but other than this, modern turtles are very similar to their original ancestors.

Several species of turtles can live to be over a hundred years of age including the American Box Turtle.

One documented case of longevity involves an adult Indian Ocean Giant Tortoise that when captured as an adult was estimated to be fifty years old. It then lived another 152 years in captivity.

Turtles live on every continent except Antarctica.

Turtles will live in almost any climate warm enough to allow them to complete their breeding cycle.

While most turtles do not tolerate the cold well, the Blanding's turtle has been observed swimming under the ice in the Great Lakes region.

Turtles range in size from the 4-inch Bog Turtle to the 1500-pound Leathery Turtle.

North America contains a large variety of turtle species, but Europe contains only two species of turtle and three species of tortoise.

The top domed part of a turtle's shell is called the carapace and the bottom underlying part is called the plastron.

The shell of a turtle is made up of 60 different bones all connected together.

The bony portion of the shell is covered with plates (scutes) that are derivatives of skin and offer additional strength and protection.

Most land tortoises have high domed carapaces that offer protection from the snapping jaws of terrestrial predators. Aquatic turtles tend to have flatter more aerodynamically shaped shells. An exception to the dome-shaped tortoise shell is the Pancake Tortoise of East Africa that will wedge itself between narrow rocks when threatened and then inflates itself with air making extraction nearly impossible.

Most turtle species have five toes on each limb with a few exceptions including the American Box Turtle of the carolina species that only has four toes, and in some cases, only three.

Turtles have good eyesight and an excellent sense of smell. Hearing and sense of touch are both good and even the shell contains nerve endings.

Some aquatic turtles can absorb oxygen through the skin on their neck and cloacal areas allowing them to remain submerged underwater for extended periods of time and enabling them to hibernate underwater.

Turtles are one of the oldest and most primitive groups of reptiles and have outlived many other species. One can only wonder if their unique shell is responsible for their success.

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=17&cat=1797&articleid=1492

[novelsryou]

Only one in three hundred Kemp's ridley turtles will survive to adulthood.

Thanks to conservation efforts, a record 10,596 hatchlings scuttled of Texas beaches last year.

The number of nesting sites is steadily rising in Texas, from 8 in 2001 to 128 last year.

[Weisinheimer]

Yay for World Turtle Day!!!

[Shalot]

Back to the turtles: as a teenager, I grew up with a young little brother who brought turtles into the house. I remember standing in the hall with my mother, looking at the turtle that had escaped from my little brother's room. There it was at the other end of the hall while my mother and I stood looking at it in silence, grossed out and not wanting to touch it. And my mother said, "Boys..."

I don't like turtles. I love that memory though, and I love my little brother, and everytime I think of turtles I will remember him.

[sofia82]

Belated Happy Turtle Days!

[Scheherazade]

Turtles have good eyesight and an excellent sense of smell. Hearing and sense of touch are both good and even the shell contains nerve endings. Shell is sensitive too? How interesting!

novelsryou and Shalot thank you very much for your contributions. I don't have a younger brother and, unfortunately, I was the one who carried tadpoles and turtles home (I hope my brother remembers me as fondly as you remember your brother! ;))

I would like to thank everyone who has taken part in this year's Turtle Day celebrations.