MEET: THE TURTLE

THE MOST ENDANGERED VERTEBRATE ANIMAL ON THE PLANET

Learn what makes turtles so unique and indispensable to our planet.

TURTLES ARE...

PARAGONS OF LONGEVITY

Having survived over 200 million years, including the dinosaur extinction event, turtles serve as a symbol for evolutionary success and longevity.

AMAZING PREDATORS

Without turtles, wetlands can turn into barren mudflats in just 8 months!

ECOSYSTEM ENGINEERS

Discarded turtle egg shells provide nourishment for beach grasses, which stabilize our precious shorelines.

WORLD'S BEST GARDENERS

With long distance seed dispersal, turtles ensure plant diversity and survival.

WATERWAY SANITATION EXPERTS

Freshwater turtles clean up waterways five times faster than natural decomposition processes.

UMBRELLA SPECIES

Tortoise burrows provide homes for 500 other species, ensuring the survival of hundreds of co-occcuring species.

State of the Earth

The world today has entered into the sixth mass extinction event since the dawn of life on Earth; and for the first time, a single species is responsible – humans.

Anthropogenic activities are altering the climate of the planet, destroying habitats, and changing the natural balance of the world completely.

More species are disappearing now than during the harshest ice ages that previously swept the Earth.

We believe it is our responsibility as humans to now work towards protecting the species who share our planet. The evidence is daunting, but it isn’t over.

At Turtle Island, we envision a bountiful planet, with abundant biodiversity of flora and fauna and thriving ecosystems. This vision, along with the practicality of science, drives us forward each and every day.

It is our joy to educate, inspire, and invite others to join the fight alongside us.

Wildlife population decline between 1970 and 2000

WWF Stats

THE ARCHIVES

More Science, Please.

Learn from the published work of our founders.

2022: TREATING SEVERE ULCERATIVE DERMATITIS

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2022: THE ASIATIC SOFTSHELL TURTLE

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2020: ALREADY TOO LATE?

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2020: NORTH AMERICAN SLIDER TURTLES

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2019: GEOMYDA AND PANGSHURA

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2018: BATAGUR BASKA GENETICS

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2018: MILLENNIUM-OLD FARM BREEDING

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2017: SEXING IN SOFTSHELL TURTLES

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2017: MAP AND SAWBACK TURTLES

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2015: THE SOUTHERN RIVER TERRAPIN

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2014: THE NORTHERN RIVER TERRAPIN

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2014: THE ASIAN SOFTSHELL TURTLE

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2014: THE INDIAN FLAPSHELL TURTLE

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2014: COCHIN FOREST CANE TURTLE

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2013: ASTROCHELYS RADIATA

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2012: PHYLOGENY OF THE SOFTSHELL TURTLE

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2012: CHELONOIDIS CHILENSIS

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2011: ASIAN FLAPSHELL TURTLES

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2011: BURMESE STAR TORTOISES

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2010: PANGSHURA SYLHETENSIS

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2010: PYXIS SPP. TORTOISES

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2009: THE NORTHERN RIVER TERRAPIN

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2009: BATAGUR AFFINIS SUBSPECIES

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2009: NEW LEAF TURTLE SPECIES

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2008: THE SOUTHERN BATAGUR

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2007: ASIAN FRESHWATER TURTLES

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2006: GEOEMYDA SILVATICA

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2003: ASPIDERETES SPECIES

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2002: ASPIDERETES NIGRICANS

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2001: KACHUGA SYLHETENSIS

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