Turtle Adoption Day is a very important holiday that’s observed annually on the 27th of November every year. It’s a day that attempts to start a conversation about endangered reptiles and what can be done to protect them.
Turtles have lived on this planet for over 100 million years and now many different species of turtles are now on the endangered species list, and it’s all due to mankind’s activity over the past several hundred years.
Some of the most endangered species of turtles include the Radiated Tortoise, Painted Terrapin, Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle, Flattened Musk Turtle, and the Yellow-Headed Box Turtle. And that’s only a small sample of the turtles that currently face extinction. That’s why we all need to come together and protect these beautiful animals.
The History Of Turtle Adoption Day
This holiday was created after Christine Shaw wrote an article on the website Found Animals that campaigned for the support of turtles. She did this on November 15th, 2011 and two days later, the holiday was observed for the first time. It has since been observed annually on November 27th.
Some Important Facts About Turtle
We wanted to underline the importance of protecting all species of turtles and we thought that the best way to do that is by listing some of the incredible facts that we’ve learned about them. We discovered the following facts while we were researching Turtle Adoption Day. Hopefully, the below facts will inspire turtle lovers everywhere to take action to protect turtles.
- The cartilage and fat of the Green Sea Turtle are green because they primarily consume sea grass and algae.
- Sea turtles lay their eggs in the sand, using their rear flipper to dig the hole. A nest of sea turtle eggs is called a Clutch.
- Sand temperature determines whether a nest produces primarily male turtles or produces primarily female turtles.
- Warm sand temperatures produce female turtles, while cooler temperatures produce male turtles.
- Global Warming is causing fewer male turtles to be hatched, which has been disastrous to sea turtle populations.
- Leatherback Sea Turtles have existed in their current form since the Age of Dinosaurs.
- Sea Turtles can remain submerged for hours at a time.
Observing Turtle Adoption Day
On this day, people can adopt a turtle, make a donation to a turtle conservation organization, or simply let other people know about the plight of turtles using the hashtag #TurtleAdoptionDay. The more people that learn about this holiday, the more people that can help, so let’s all work together to save turtles for future generations to enjoy.
When is Turtle Adoption Day? |
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| This year (2023) | November 27 (Monday) |
| Next year (2024) | November 27 (Wednesday) |
| Last year (2022) | November 27 (Sunday) |