What is a turtle?

Turtles are cold-blooded reptiles with hard shells which act as a shield to protect them from predators. According to the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS), the turtle order, Testudines (or Chelonia), splits into two suborders, Cryptodira and Pleurodira, and then further splits into 13 families, 75 genera and more than 300 species.

Some of the more common species are the green, hawksbill, loggerhead, olive ridley and leatherback turtles.

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Habitat

Turtles spend most of their lives in the ocean and only coming to land to lay their eggs. They are among the oldest and most primitive groups of reptiles and have since evolved millions of years ago.

Turtles are very adaptive and thrive on every continent except in the coldest part of the earth, Antarctica. Turtles are a fundamental link in marine ecosystems as they help maintain the health of coral reefs and seagrass beds which in turn benefit commercially valuable species such as shrimp, lobster and tuna.

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It is sad to know that these species of turtles listed above are on the endangered list. Amongst the threats they face are caused by humans such as illegal trade, consumption, bycatch in commercial fishing gear, pollution and climate change.

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What is World Turtle Day about?

World Turtle Day has been sponsored by the American Tortoise Rescue, a non-profit organization established in 1990 for the protection of all species of tortoises and turtles since 2000. The World Turtle Day was initiated as an annual observance on May 23 for people to celebrate and protect turtles and tortoises and their endangered habitats. The objective of World Turtle Day is to raise awareness and increase knowledge of and respect for turtles and tortoises as well as to encourage human actions to help them to survive and thrive.

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We can play our part by supporting sea turtles’ ecotourism, purchasing sustainable seafood and adopting a turtle from a turtle sanctuary.

Perhaps, an easier step will be to pick up a FaveKad World Turtle Day ecard and sending it as support for the turtles to your loved ones and friends.