December 2025

Kang Juntao, a 25-year-old resident of Hangzhou City, China, pleaded guilty to financing a smuggling ring that illegally exported approximately 1,500 protected turtles from the United States to Hong Kong. The estimated value of these reptiles was $2,250,000. According to the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), from around June 12, 2017, to December 3, […]

A 2018 study discovered microplastics and marine plastics in all seven marine turtle species. The research examined stranded and bycaught turtles from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, as well as the Mediterranean Sea, finding plastics in the digestive systems of green, loggerhead, Kemp’s ridley, leatherback, flatback, hawksbill, and olive ridley turtles. A new study analyzed

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is actively seeking information that could lead to the arrest and conviction of individuals who painted the shell of a gopher tortoise. This tortoise is one of two that were vandalized; the second painted tortoise has not yet been located. The FWC has issued a stern warning

A man on Marco Island in Florida has acquired a vacant plot of land next to his home to ensure that the gopher tortoises living there have a lifetime of free rent in the form of a sanctuary. Doug Meester purchased the property early in 2021 to maintain its natural state and protect the 26

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) and the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere are tracking eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) in Nashville to determine how their urban environment affects them. Dr. Brian Flock, TWRA’s Wildlife Diversity and Intern Coordinator, created this tracking project with two goals in mind. “The initial idea was to have something