Every year on May 23, the world celebrates an extremely important environmental holiday – World Turtle Day. It was launched in 2000 by the American Tortoise Rescue. The purpose of the holiday is to draw attention to the preservation of these reptiles, which have lived on Earth for over 200 million years!
Unfortunately, due to their "neighborhood" with humans, many species are under threat of extinction. Turtles are losing their natural homes due to pollution of water bodies (especially plastic), climate change has a negative impact on their reproduction, but the most terrible factor remains poaching and illegal trade.
Turtles are a true symbol of resilience and evolutionary success. They have settled almost all continents, adapting to life in hot deserts, fresh water bodies and vast oceans.
For Mykolaiv Zoo, turtles are not just exhibits, but an important part of educational work. They are ideal heroes for children's quests, excursions and environmental lessons. Our zoo has a wonderful collection of these reptiles: here you can see both huge land giants and exotic freshwater inhabitants. In total, we keep 23 species of turtles (8 land species and 15 freshwater species).
Each turtle is an individual. They have their own habits, favorite food and can even recognize the people who look after them. Each of these animals has a unique story, but the real star is the African spurred tortoise (Centrochelys sulcata). This is the third largest land tortoise in the world and the largest on the African continent. An incredible male named Marcus lives in Mykolaiv Zoo with his girlfriend Shkoda. Marcus is the largest tortoise in our collection, he already weighs about 40 kg and has long become a real favorite of children and adults.
And in our zoo you can see such amazing reptiles as: mata-mata (Chelus fimbriatus), eastern long-necked turtle (Chelodina longicollis), Chinese softshell turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis), common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina), Galapagos giant tortoise (Chelonoidis niger) and many others. By the way, the Galapagos giant tortoise is an old resident of our zoo – it was born back in 1998 and came to us from Rotterdam...
Turtle Day is a great opportunity to stop in our crazy rhythm of life, look into the eyes of these amazing creatures and remember that the beauty and diversity of our planet depend on our care. Let's take care of nature and those who make our world unique!
