May 23 – World Turtle Day

Today, May 23, World Turtle Day is celebrated in many countries. The holiday was born in 2000 on the initiative of the American Turtle Rescue Society. This organization was founded by enthusiasts in 1990 in Malibu (California, USA) to preserve the population of turtles living in the vicinity of the city.

The purpose of the holiday was to draw public attention to the problem of the death of a large number of turtles due to proximity to people. In recent years, Turtle Day has been celebrated not only in those corners of the globe where these animals live, but also in many other countries of the world.

Mykolaiv Zoo traditionally joins the celebration of World Turtle Day.

Today, the collection of turtles in our zoo includes 27 species, of which 8 terrestrial species and 19 aquatic species, totaling 100 individuals. The largest tortoise in Mykolaiv Zoo is the African spurred tortoise (Geochelone sulcata) named Marcus. His weight reaches 34 kg, and the length of the plastron is 54 cm. The collection of Mykolaiv Zoo is also famous for its long-lived species, such as the Indochinese box turtle (Cuora galbinifrons), born in 1998, and the yellow-footed tortoise (Chelonoidis denticulata), born in 1996.

Usually, from late spring to mid-autumn, tortoises are placed in their summer enclosure. In the summer enclosure, the tortoises are regularly enriched with feed: the feeding methods alternate (on dishes, suspended on a wire and on a plastic "carousel", placed on vertically installed metal rods), feed is offered in grated form, cut into large pieces, or undivided bundles (lettuce, fresh greens).

It has already become a good tradition to hold an interesting educational campaign dedicated to the World Turtle Day at Mykolaiv Zoo. During the event, our young guests and their parents learned a lot of interesting things about turtles, were able to communicate with these animals, pet them, bathe and feed them, children also had the opportunity to show their knowledge during a quiz and perform other interesting tasks.