In my comeback entry of 2007 (hey, I've only missed blogging for less than 1/3 year), only a few stories to report from the past week:

Turtle In The Road
Turtle protection gets Defence support in Orissa
Wild no more, injured Sarah seeks a safer sea
Another try for turtles
Turtle nesting under threat
County planners set to review regulations: tortoise mitigation
Green Turtle Nesting Sites Discovered In Senegal
Scientists Track Sea Turtles' Movement with Transmitters
Indonesia's Polluted Environment Threatens Hawksbill Turtle
Turtle could wreak havoc on Coast waterways
Mary River turtle needs saving
Searching for turtle eggs

On her blog, Tricia of The Miss Rumphius Effect has reviewed a book called Turtle Summer. It is a journal chronicling the adventures of one mother and daughter during loggerhead turtle nesting season.

I love this idea. I always thought I would one day buy one of those glass-fronted barrister bookshelves to turn into a snake enclosure. This piece from Ikea serves as a nice home for this turtle:

IKEA Hacker: Hacking a Turtle Terrarium

At Travels, Thoughts, & Other Tidbits, Jax posts photos from her recent Galapagos cruise. Today she focuses on tortoise photos!

So in Zambia, Africa, tortoises are being used to deliver warning messages.

Dogs and birds, too. Of course we all know about the place the carrier pigeon has in history, but who knew that chelonians were equally suited for the job?

In one recent instance, a tortoise carried a message to a magistrate (judge) who had just incarcerated two prisoners. The message suggested that the prisoners be released, as they have unfinished problems to resolve, or else the magistrate himself would have to tend to the trouble. The end the letter signed off, "If you want to talk to us reply through the same channel." Would that be the carrier tortoise channel?

This opens up my imagination to unlimited possibilities. On what errands might I send my tortoises? I wonder if they could handle my late-night Walgreen's candy runs?

Maybe I'll start by sending Scooter next door to deliver my neighbor's mis-delivered mail.

Zambia: Tortoise Delivers Letter to Magistrate
Zambia: Copperbelt Tortoise Shocker!

Disclaimer: With this post I am not criticizing another culture, their beliefs or superstitions. I am merely commenting on an occurrence that would not have happened the same way in my own culture.

This is one smart turtle, and one patient man.

The following links to a nearly-5-minute video showcasing this three-toed box turtle's talents. It is by far the most complete of the videos I found, though I don't like this link because, well, let's just say that this site makes me happy my local paper moderates its reader comments. Anyway, here it is:

Man Trains Turtle To Do Tricks

Here is another link to an edited version, and this one has an interesting voiceover commentary (and gives more information about how the man uses Florida in therapy for kids):

Trained Turtle

And here's a nice little written story: Turtle tricks

Yep, it's time for our roundup of the past week's news items:

12/09/2007 - China turns turtle in race to save species Global crisis
12/09/2007 - 'Dr. Turtle' cares for Cape injured
12/08/2007 - Man arrested on sea turtle charge
12/08/2007 - Tortoise's 3rd Freedom Flight Foiled
12/08/2007 - College students find rare tortoise variety
12/08/2007 - SoCal tortoise caught after third slow getaway
12/08/2007 - Willy the tortoise makes slow-speed dash for freedom in Southern California
12/08/2007 - Pa. police find 6-foot alligator during arrest
12/08/2007 - Tortoise Captured After Third Escape Attempt
12/07/2007 - The agenda is simple: this turtle must not die
12/07/2007 - Marine patrol finds rare sea turtle in boat
12/07/2007 - Turtle transfer beats letting critter become road pizza
12/07/2007 - Yangtze turtle that time almost forgot
12/07/2007 - Willy the wayward tortoise collared
12/06/2007 - Pollution, overfishing threaten survival of Florida seas turtles
12/06/2007 - Inspiration from Sea Turtles
12/05/2007 - China’s Turtles, Emblems of a Crisis
12/05/2007 - Fishing spells turtle trouble
12/04/2007 - Sea turtles face threat from Indian ports plan
12/04/2007 - Indiantown men arrested after gopher tortoise is injured
12/03/2007 - Once common, now disappearing: Wood Turtle and Olive-sided Flycatcher focus attention on Species at Risk
12/03/2007 - Groups seek 'endangered' status for loggerhead turtles along Atlantic Coast

"After decades of over-hunting on the shores of the Pacific ocean, the Olive Ridley turtle has been rescued from the brink of extinction....It now seems this species of turtle will have a safe future in the hands of the local community."

See a video of hatchling Olive Ridleys heading for their new home in the ocean:
Click here for baby tortoises!

"The RSPCA has asked broadband, phone, TV and mobile provider Virgin Media to remove an online advertisement for its broadband service. The advert, an animation, features a firework that is used to fire a tortoise into space, in the process of which the tortoise's shell is ripped off.

In an incident this week in Wrexham, an injured terrapin was found strapped to a firework, that had been lit. Luckily the terrapin - a female - survived, and she is now being treated in a specialist centre."

Read more at the RSPCA web site.

The Georgia Sea Turtle Center (newly added to my list of links in the right column) reports on the happy release of Bev the loggerhead back to the sea.

Bev's Bon Voyage
Bev Heads Back to the Sea: Part 1

Bev had been undergoing rehabilitation since summer 2006.

And this is just cooler than I can say:

Bev's Satellite Tracking

She's way out there, isn't she!

Sea turtles, they do not make good pets. They need an enormous amount of space, and just keeping all that water clean must be a nearly full time job. (I refuse to keep even a small aquarium.)

Plus, it is illegal to keep sea turtles as pets.

Still, there are a few ways to adopt a sea turtle, and ehow describes some of them for us, just in time for Christmas. The adoption site is AdoptASeaTurtle.com.

Disclaimer: I have not tried this, nor have I checked out the organization in any way. But it sure does sound neat.

A sea turtle they named Taro washed up on the shore of a Hokkaido village with one flipper missing.

Sea turtles don't belong in the Hokkaido region, so Taro probably got swept there by currents. I'd think the missing flipper might have made it difficult for Taro to steer.

Taro has been rehabilitated to the point where he or she can now feed. The sea turtle's long term future is unsure, but for now they'll be keeping Taro at least until spring.

Loretta Tainao, the woman who purchased, cooked and ate a threatened sea turtle last year, has plead guilty and is being sentenced in February. (February 13, 2008, at 8:30am, to be exact. I'll be sure to report here.) The offense can bring a one-year maximum imprisonment with a fine of $100,000.

Here's the link: Sentencing of woman who cooked sea turtle set

And, no, she did not cook a set of sea turtles. There was just the one sea turtle. Thankfully. That kind of ambiguity is a pet peeve of mine.

And here's your weekly news of all-things-shelled:

12/16/2007 - Sea World hospital faces biggest challenge
12/15/2007 - Algonquin Road gets new 'Turtle Crossing' signs
12/15/2007 - Turtle rescued in New Smyrna as red tide continues
12/14/2007 - Endangered turtle turns up in Tobeatic
12/14/2007 - Sea turtle hatchlings released to raise awareness on climate change
12/14/2007 - Dolphin, turtle carcasses examined for red tide link
12/14/2007 - Habitat plan could limit growth
12/13/2007 - Endangered Blanding's Turtle Discovered in Protected Area
12/13/2007 - 2007 annual loggerhead turtle report complete
12/13/2007 - Bog Turtle Impacts Golf Plan
12/12/2007 - Tortoise meat, shells worth Rs 4m seized
12/12/2007 - Red tide may be killing sea turtles in Florida
12/12/2007 - How to save the turtles from being extinct...
12/11/2007 - Hawksbill turtle is focus of climate change study
12/11/2007 - Endangered turtle may be last remaining
12/11/2007 - Stiff security for sea turtles - Operation olive to watch over illegal trade
12/11/2007 - Red tide blamed for sea-turtle kills
12/11/2007 - Polk Land Suggested As Tortoise Preserve
12/11/2007 - Red Tide Blamed For 15 Turtle Deaths In December
12/11/2007 - Red Tide Blamed For More Sea Turtle Deaths
12/11/2007 - Sea turtle nesting site a unique eco-attraction in Suriname
12/11/2007 - Red Tide Blamed In Sea Turtle Deaths
12/10/2007 - Turtles wash ashore near Melbourne Beach

Some photos of a turtle release at the blog Todos Santos Baja Pages - News and Rumors. These hatchlings entered the world on October 5, 2007. Good luck, sweet turtle hatchlings.

World Wildlife News published an entry entitled, Life of a Tortoise. It is a great primer on tortoises for us non-experts. It is short and it has great photos, like the one at left.

Koopa is on YouTube.
Koopa has been featured on Product Buzz.
Koopa has his own web page.

Koopa is a turtle that paints, and his paintings hang in all 50 states, plus Canada, Bahrain, The Netherlands, The United Kingdom, Australia, and Italy. Koopa even has a MySpace page, though I don't recommend you go there under any circumstances. (As the background music says, "Gimme one reason to stay here," and I have found no reason to ever stay on any MySpace page. Hire some user interface designers, MySpace, you're not a startup anymore.)

Koopa was recently featured on Neatorama's "Caption this photo" contest, but don't bother entering, as winners have already been chosen.

I have to hand it to Koopa's human assistant, Kira, for creating this turtle/art niche. That's some genius product development right there.

To view Koopa's current work for sale, visit Koopa's Ebay store.

Have you seen this turtle?

Shelley, the red-eared slider, went missing from her back yard pool about 10 days ago.

This is Shelley's first adventure away from home, and she may need your help. Please visit this article and call the listed phone number if you have any leads.

Willie, her pool-mate, misses her.

This pancake tortoise could pass for my leopard tortoise, Scooter ... if Scooter were run over by a bus. How do they even fit all their organs in that flat shell?

Here is some good reading material on the species (Malacochersus tornieri):

David Kirkpatrick's article, originally published in Reptile & Amphibian Magazine
Natural History, also by Kirkpatrick
General Care, by Paula Morris
Keeping and Breeding the Pancake Tortoise, by Tortoise Trust

Turtle news, pre-Christmas week.

12/23/2007 - Helping Sea Turtles Fight Off Fatal Chills
12/22/2007 - County damaged tortoise burrow
12/21/2007 - Commissioners grill feds on tortoises
12/20/2007 - Vets from Bangkok rescue Turtles from local Sanctuary
12/20/2007 - Turtle Lighting Discussions
12/20/2007 - Charlotte agency damaged tortoise burrow with bulldozer
12/20/2007 - Tortoise slows down public works project
12/19/2007 - Turtles arrive for winter
12/19/2007 - Turtle Lighting Ordinance
12/19/2007 - Tortoise preserve to get large addition
12/18/2007 - Turtles taking flight
12/18/2007 - Study shows that sea turtles can recover
12/17/2007 - Commission To Consider Tortoise Relocation
12/17/2007 - TDC to tackle beach lights
12/17/2007 - Attention Daytona BeachGoers And Environmentalists | Adopt A Turtle Nest
12/17/2007 - Turtle Smuggler Sentenced
12/17/2007 - Florida man gets probation in Alabama turtle smuggling case

Here's the final recap of last week's news for the year of 2007. Happy New Year!

12/31/2007 - Turtles, not loose change
12/31/2007 - People saving the turtle
12/31/2007 - Rare turtle set to receive increased protection
12/29/2007 - More star-tortoises seized at airport
12/28/2007 - Camagüey takes actions favouring the protection of turtles
12/28/2007 - Turtle washes up on beach north of Seaside
12/27/2007 - Sea Turtle washed ashore at Eastern Beach
12/27/2007 - 'Turtle Lady' Arrested For Meth Possession
12/26/2007 - Turtle lighting rule for naught?
12/26/2007 - Fishing Project Defends Turtle