![\"Trump](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.animals24-7.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Picsart_25-06-16_16-14-18-721-e1750115715274.jpg?ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/p>\n(Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n MALIBU, California\u2013\u2013<\/strong>The 25th annual World Turtle Day was \u201cshellebrated,\u201d\u00a0 in founder Susan Tellem\u2019s idiom,\u00a0 back on May 23,\u00a0 2025,\u00a0 \u00a0but turtle and tortoise news tends to crawl along much like turtles and tortoises themselves,\u00a0 much more slowly and calmly most of the time than the tanks,\u00a0 distantly modeled after turtles,\u00a0 that lumbered through Washington D.C. on June 15, 2025 in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the U.S. military and president Donald Trump\u2019s 79th birthday.<\/p>\n (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Other than World Turtle Day itself,\u00a0 only two \u201cturtle news\u201d items clambered into the ANIMALS 24-7<\/strong> email inbox within a month either way.\u00a0 Both turtle items came from Florida.<\/p>\n The first was that in Sarasota,\u00a0 Florida,\u00a0 according to WWSB television,\u00a0 \u201cA wall of hay bales was installed along the beaches on Anna Maria Island to prevent sea turtles from leaving their habitat,\u201d\u00a0 more specifically to keep hatchlings from running inland instead of out into the surf.<\/p>\n \u201cThe hay bales serve both as barrier and as a cue to the turtles,\u201d\u00a0 WWSB explained,\u00a0 who \u201cmay be disoriented by lights from local homes and cars.\u201d<\/p>\n For 110 million years,\u00a0 since the Early Cretaceous epoch,\u00a0 baby sea turtles have hatched on beaches by night,\u00a0 then navigated by the stars to find their way to ocean, \u00a0before birds and other predators arrive with dawn to find and eat them.<\/p>\n Only much later,\u00a0 when the turtles\u2019 shells harden,\u00a0 are they relatively safe from most predators.<\/p>\n (Brevard Zoo photo)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n For most of those 110 million years,\u00a0 starlight visible over the waves,\u00a0 but not from behind coastal dunes and shrubbery,\u00a0 was the only light a baby turtle could see.<\/p>\n Then humans introduced artificial lighting,\u00a0 disoriented baby turtles often ran the wrong way,\u00a0 and sea turtle populations plummeted to the point of endangerment until people finally figured out the lighting problem and responded.<\/p>\n \u201cNesting season runs all summer long,\u201d\u00a0 WWSB reminded.\u00a0 \u201cAnna Maria Island Turtle Watch wants to make sure people know to turn off artificial light after 8 p.m.<\/p>\n \u201cBeachgoers should avoid moving the hay bales,\u201d\u00a0 WWSB added, \u00a0\u201cas it could allow the turtles to roam where they will get lost.\u201d<\/p>\n 135 year old Galapagos tortoise \u201cGoliath\u201d with newly hatched son.\u00a0 (Zoo Miami photo)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The second turtle news item of the month came from Newsweek<\/em> deputy weekend editor Hollie Silverman.<\/p>\n \u201cGoliath, \u00a0a 517-pound Galapagos tortoise and the oldest animal at Zoo Miami,\u201d\u00a0 Silverman offered on June 15,\u00a0 2025,\u00a0 \u201ccelebrated his 135th birthday and became a father for the first time,\u201d\u00a0 Silverman reported.<\/p>\n \u201cGoliath, \u00a0who hatched on Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos sometime between 1885 and 1890 according to varying official records, \u00a0has resided in the U.S. since 1929 and at Zoo Miami since 1981,\u201d\u00a0 Silverman recounted.<\/p>\n \u201cAlthough he has bred with several females, this is his first confirmed offspring in at least four decades of attempts, according to Zoo Miami.\u201d<\/p>\n The mother,\u00a0 Sweet Pea,\u00a0 \u201cis between 85 and 100 years old and has lived at Zoo Miami since 1960,\u201d\u00a0 Silverman mentioned.\u00a0 Of eight eggs Sweet Pea laid,\u00a0 just one hatched,\u00a0 \u201con June 4, 2025 after 128 days of incubation,\u201d\u00a0 Silverman said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe oldest living tortoise known,\u201d\u00a0 Silverman concluded, \u00a0\u201cis Jonathan, \u00a0a Seychelles giant tortoise living on St. Helena, \u00a0estimated to be 191 years old.\u201d<\/p>\n Susan & Marshall Tellem in 2015.<\/strong><\/em> \u201cI\u2019m still catching my breath\u2014and wiping happy tears,\u201d\u00a0 posted Susan Tellem,\u00a0 also cofounder of American Tortoise Rescue in 1990 with her husband Marshall.<\/p>\n \u201cOver 100 million people around the world joined the shellebration this World Turtle Day,\u201d\u00a0 Tellum said,\u00a0 claiming an audience of more than 1,000 times the audience for Trump\u2019s military parade.<\/p>\n \u201cCan you believe that??\u201d Tellem asked.\u00a0 \u201cBecause I can\u2019t!\u00a0 You showed up in the most beautiful ways\u2014with art, \u00a0poems, \u00a0shellfies, \u00a0costumes, \u00a0classroom projects, \u00a0and so much love for turtles and tortoises.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd it meant the world to me,\u201d\u00a0 after an exceptionally difficult 12 months.<\/p>\n Marshall Tellem in earlier years of American Tortoise Rescue.<\/strong><\/em> \u201cMany happy years ago,\u201d\u00a0 Tellem recounted on June 30,\u00a0 2024,\u00a0 \u201cMarshall and I founded American Tortoise Rescue in 1990 at a time when there were no national turtle and tortoise rescues.<\/p>\n \u201cThis was a change for us, \u00a0as we had rescued cats, \u00a0dogs, \u00a0bunnies, \u00a0snakes, \u00a0birds, \u00a0and many other animals.<\/p>\n \u201cIt started because we were in a pet shop and saw two box turtles for adoption. \u00a0I never thought of turtles as pets,\u201d\u00a0 Tellem admitted, \u00a0\u201cso this would be another animal we could save and learn more about. \u00a0We brought the \u2018Peggy Sue\u2019 duo home and then wondered, \u00a0like so many other turtle owners, what they needed to eat. \u00a0We devoured books and talked to vets.<\/p>\n \u201cThe more we read,\u201d\u00a0 Tellem said, \u00a0\u201cthe more we realized the U.S. needed a national clearing house of the correct information.<\/p>\n Susan Cain Tellem,\u00a0 cofounder of<\/strong><\/em> \u201cSince then,\u201d\u00a0 Tellem continued,\u00a0 \u201cthe two of us carried this mission on together. \u00a0But, \u00a0sadly three years ago, \u00a0Marshall was diagnosed with dementia. \u00a0This came right after the fire,\u201d\u00a0 the Woolsey Fire of 2018, \u00a0\u201cthat destroyed our home. \u00a0Marshall lost his video business equipment and his Navy captain dad\u2019s World War II mementos. \u00a0It was too much for him. \u00a0He still loves to wear his American Tortoise Rescue clothes, \u00a0but can no longer help.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is why you have seen just me for several years.\u201d<\/p>\n Almost all of the American Tortoise Rescue animals,\u00a0 including 35 turtles and three cats,\u00a0 survived the catastrophic fire.\u00a0 The Tellems moved a manufactured home onto the property and Susan Tellem resumed her turtle and tortoise caretaking.<\/p>\n \u201cI will not stop till I drop,\u201d\u00a0 Susan Tellem vowed,\u00a0 but more challenges followed,\u00a0 including two more wildfires that razed parts of Malibu in December 2024 and January 2025.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were just about a mile out of the evacuation zone, \u00a0so we did not have to leave,\u201d\u00a0 Susan Tellem emailed to American Tortoise Rescue supporters at Christmas 2024.<\/p>\n \u201cBut that is still very scary, \u00a0especially when you can see the flames from your living room window.\u201d<\/p>\n (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Among the many people now following the Tellems and American Tortoise Rescue in doing turtle and tortoise public education are Animal Footnotes<\/em> blogger Tracy Basile and Natasha Nowick,\u00a0 of Southbridge,\u00a0 Massachusetts,\u00a0 who founded the Turtle Rescue League in 2010.<\/p>\n On April 29,\u00a0 2025,\u00a0 Basile extensively interviewed Nowick about turtle sentience.<\/p>\n (See https:\/\/www.animalfootnotes.org\/what-a-turtle-knows<\/a>.)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cIf a turtle gets hit by a car,\u201d\u00a0 Nowick explained, \u00a0\u201cthat\u2019s going to be painful beyond measure. \u00a0You don\u2019t have to have ESP to feel your heart respond to the trauma they are going through. \u00a0If they\u2019ve been biting the ground, \u00a0you\u2019ll find dirt in their mouth. \u00a0If they have a broken limb, \u00a0they will hold it close and gasp with their mouth open and eyes tightly shut.<\/p>\n Beth Clifton meets an African spur thigh [sulcata] tortoise.\u00a0 (Merritt Clifton photo)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThey might not have vocal chords or facial muscles like us,\u201d\u00a0 Nowick said, \u00a0\u201cbut they can make their version of what you\u2019d imagine someone calling out in pain. It\u2019s a sharp intake and then an exhalation \u2014 a hiss, if you will. They have cortisol levels that shoot through the roof. \u00a0All turtles telegraph their pain like any other animal. \u00a0It almost seems insulting to me that there is any question about this in our modern era.\u201d<\/p>\n Turtles \u201ccan experience pain and fear, and absolutely they have their own little ambitions as well,\u201d\u00a0 Nowick continued. \u00a0\u201cMost of our patients realize what is going on and they learn to watch us. They understand that we are helping them, \u00a0but they are scared.<\/p>\n Gopher tortoises at the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Naples, Florida.<\/strong><\/em> \u201cOne thing I think surprises a lot of people, \u00a0is how absolutely loving they are with each other,\u201d\u00a0 Nowick said. \u00a0\u201cWe get in patients of all ages. We regularly see snapping turtles acting very gently, \u00a0affectionately with each other, \u00a0just looking at each other.\u201d<\/p>\n Nowick went on to describe turtles \u201cexperiencing dreams and revisiting their waking day while they are asleep. \u00a0I\u2019ve seen turtles out of water sleeping at night,\u201d\u00a0 Nowick said, \u00a0\u201ckicking their back legs as if they were swimming. \u00a0I have seen a blind snapping turtle who will hunch up and defend herself as if she is under attack in her sleep without ever having had the benefit of seeing.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the depths of sleep, \u00a0the collective unconscious of 200 million years of turtle instinct is way sharper than anything she could learn,\u201d\u00a0 Nowick said.<\/p>\n (Beth Clifton photo)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n A turtle mind,\u00a0 Nowick emphasized,\u00a0 \u201cis indeed a very different mind than ours.<\/p>\n \u201cA turtle does have an absolutely remarkable\u2014let\u2019s use a computer word here\u2014an incredible ROM (Read Only Memory), the stuff that tells the computer how to do basic things like when you turn on the power button.\u00a0 It boots up and goes through a sequence. \u00a0For a turtle that ROM is mind boggling.\u201d<\/p>\n Turtles \u201ccome out of the egg,\u201d\u00a0 Nowick cited, \u00a0\u201cwith the knowledge they will need to dig their own nests when they become adults. \u00a0They are born out of the egg knowing how to sniff out water for their first home. \u00a0I am talking about an animal who, \u00a0without ever being taught, \u00a0knows more about the world than any mammal will inherently know,\u201d\u00a0 meaning without acquired learning.<\/p>\n (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n But turtles are interactive,\u00a0 do learn,\u00a0 and do teach each other.<\/p>\n \u201cOn a summer day,\u201d\u00a0 Nowick said, \u00a0\u201cyou see it when you see a batch of painted turtles sunning on a log. \u00a0They are all looking in different directions.\u00a0 They are all keeping an eye open for each other. \u00a0They know it is to their hazard not to pay attention to their community when sharing a resource.<\/p>\n \u201cSome people would say turtles don\u2019t need to interact, \u00a0their minds are too simplistic, \u00a0too archaic, \u00a0but that is not the case,\u201d\u00a0 Nowick told Basile.<\/p>\n \u201cThey have a very dynamic inner world. \u00a0What is in their minds will never disappear.\u201d<\/p>\n Sea turtle rescuer & educator Ila Loetscher, Kemp\u2019s ridley sea turtle, and range map for the species.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/em>(Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n We do not really know who the first turtle educator was.\u00a0 Very likely there were turtle educators among the first societies known to have kept turtles as pets,\u00a0 in ancient Egypt,\u00a0 India,\u00a0 and China.<\/p>\n Among the most prominent of the past several centuries,\u00a0 however,\u00a0 was pioneering aviatrix Ila Loetscher,\u00a0 \u00a0the renowned Turtle Lady of South Padre Island, \u00a0Texas.<\/p>\n From 1958 until 1997,\u00a0 three years before her death in 2000 at age 95,\u00a0 Loetscher taught and advocated on behalf of Kemp\u2019s Ridley sea turtles in particular, \u00a0retiring only when she became physically unable to continue.<\/p>\n25th annual World Turtle Day was a much bigger success than Donald Trump\u2019s military parade<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nBaby sea turtles<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nSea turtles & starlight<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nOlder parents<\/h2>\n
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(American Tortoise Rescue)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\u201cHappy tears\u201d<\/h2>\n
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(Susan Cain Tellem photo)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\nHow American Tortoise Rescue started<\/h2>\n
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American Tortoise Rescue.<\/strong><\/em>
(Marshall Thompson photo)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\nBurned out\u2013\u2013but most of the animals survived<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nTurtle sentience<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cThey learn to watch us\u201d<\/h2>\n
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(Beth Clifton photo)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\u201cSnapping turtles acting gently\u201d<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cA very different mind than ours\u201d<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cWhat is in their minds will never disappear\u201d<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nTurtle educators<\/h2>\n