Box turtle, rattlesnake collection would be outlawed under WV's proposed new regulation - via Herp Digest

By John McCoy Staff writer , West Virginia Gazette

Mar 21, 2020

A regulation proposed by West Virginia’s Division of Natural Resources would make it illegal for people to take home box turtles for pets. If approved, the regulation would go into effect in 2021.

The DNR’s proposed reptile-collection regulations would set a bag and possession limit of zero for timber rattlesnakes, although agency officials say provisions will be made for congregations of snake-handling churches. 

JOHN McCOY | Gazette-MailOne of West Virginia’s most-collected reptiles might soon become uncollectable.

State natural resources officials are considering a regulation that would make it illegal to pick up and take home a box turtle.

The regulation, which would go into effect next year if approved, would set a bag limit of zero for 17 reptile and amphibian species, including Eastern box turtles, timber rattlesnakes, Eastern hog-nosed snakes, smooth greensnakes, Northern rough greensnakes and red cornsnakes.

Kevin Oxenrider, a biologist with the Division of Natural Resources’ Natural Heritage section, said agency officials are aware that the proposed regulations for box turtles and timber rattlesnakes might be controversial.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of Mountain State youngsters carry home box turtles each year to keep as pets. Congregations at snake-handling churches count on having rattlesnakes on hand during their services.

Oxenrider said provisions would be made for snake handlers, but not for people who pick up box turtles.

“We’ve been working closely with [the DNR’s] Law Enforcement Section to make sure we don’t infringe on people’s ability to worship with snakes if they choose to do so,” he explained. “We plan to work with the attorney general to make sure people have access to those animals for [snake-handling] purposes.”

He said a provision would be written into the regulation that would allow snake-handling congregants to collect rattlesnakes as long as they let the DNR know in advance they’d be doing it.

“In addition, people who study rattlesnakes for scientific purposes, or who need them on hand at educational facilities, could still request permission to collect them,” he said. “It also would be legal for landowners to kill rattlers that they consider a threat to the people who live on the property.”

Current regulations allow people to collect one timber rattler, which must measure at least 42 inches in length.

“The current size limit is to protect female rattlers, which don’t usually get that large,” Oxenrider said. “Taking out an adult female could have a significant impact on a local population. Female timber rattlers take seven years to mature, and they only reproduce once every 2 to 5 years.”

The no-take regulation, he added, would allow law enforcement officers to avoid the hazard of having to measure collected snakes to determine if they’re of legal size.

Timber rattlers — the official West Virginia state reptile, and the only rattlesnake species native to the state — have become increasingly scarce in recent years. DNR officials are currently working on two different studies to determine where rattlesnakes tend to live, and how to minimize contact between rattlers and humans.

Current state regulations allow people to possess up to four box turtles, but that would change under the new regulation. Again, Oxenrider said the no-take regulation is intended to slow an ongoing decline in box-turtle populations.

“Their numbers are down throughout their range in North America,” he added. “They’re particularly susceptible to illegal collecting for the pet trade. One man in Maryland was caught with more than 1,000 of them.”

Being able to take box turtles legally, Oxenrider said, creates opportunities for poachers, who could simply make the rounds of their associates, picking up four turtles at each stop.

There’s also a disease issue. Box turtles can carry ranavirus, a disease that can be fatal to reptiles and amphibians.

“We’ve had three die-off events from ranavirus here in the state,” Oxenrider explained. “Box turtles don’t have large home ranges. When you have 20 animals die in an area, it has a large impact on the local population.”

He said it isn’t unusual for a youngster vacationing in the Eastern Panhandle to find a box turtle and take it back home with them.

“That’s how diseases get spread,” he continued. “[Going to a no-take regulation] stinks, because kids are used to having that connection with box turtles. But it’s needed if we want box-turtle populations to persist in West Virginia.”

Oxenrider said the no-take rule will not be enforced against people who rescue box turtles they see crossing highways.

“We would allow for Good Samaritan acts,” he explained. “We would ask people to move turtles to the side of the highway, but not move them any farther than that. Moving them to the side of the road won’t spread ranavirus. Taking them home just might.”

The proposed regulations have been presented to members of the state Natural Resources Commission, who will vote on them at one of their quarterly meetings later this year.

AZG&F reminds public to not take Box Turtles from the wild – via Herp Digest

The box turtle is a protected species, that if taken from the wild can never be returned, as it will die.

Posted: Wednesday, October 2, 2013 12:00 pm

Mark Hart Arizona Game and Fish |

An increase in box turtle observation reports by citizen-scientists in southeastern Arizona has led the state Game and Fish Department to issue a reminder that it is illegal to collect box turtles from the wild, even if they are only kept in captivity for a short time.

Only those box turtles held legally prior to January 1, 2005 is allowed, said Regional Supervisor Raul Vega of Game and Fish in Tucson. 

“Keep wild turtles wild. Do not collect a box turtle if you encounter one in the wild,” Vega said. “By bringing it home you are dooming it to a life in captivity, because a captive turtle can never be released back into the wild.”

  Vega noted that removing a box turtle from the wild can severely affect local populations because turtles grow  and reproduce slowly. Captive turtles released into the wild can severely jeopardize local wild turtle populations through the introduction of diseases and parasites, and can displace individuals or populations of wild box turtles by competing for resources, he added.

 “Watch and enjoy box turtles, but avoid contact.  If you observe an ornate box turtle in the wild, it is best to let it continue on its way. Do not disturb it by picking it up,” Vega said. “The one exception to this rule is if a turtle is in harm’s way trying to cross a road. If it is safe to do so, gently lift the turtle just high enough so its feet are just above the ground and transport it across the road in the direction it was heading.”

Game and Fish also suggests:

•Become a citizen scientist - participate in the Ornate Box Turtle Watch. The ornate box turtle is thought to be in decline in Arizona. Help the Arizona Game and Fish Department monitor this species by reporting any observations of wild box turtles in Arizona. Find out about the program at: http://www.azgfd.gov/w_c/boxturtlewatch.shtml.

• Participate in the Sponsor-a-Turtle program. The Arizona Game and Fish Department Turtles Project utilizes technical equipment such as radio-telemetry tags, GPS units, and hoop traps to survey and monitor turtle populations statewide. By donating to the Turtles Project, you will help project biologists purchase this gear so that they may continue to plan and implement conservation and management. For more information, see: http://www.azgfd.gov/w_c/documents/Sponsor-A-TurtleProgrambrochureFinal.pdf

• Practice responsible Off Highway Vehicle (OHV) use. Ornate box turtle habitat in Arizona is limited and is sensitive to degradation.  Using OHVs in unauthorized areas can result in loss and destruction of habitat through the degradation of native vegetation, spread of invasive plant species, and soil erosion. Please stay on roads and trails, and do not trample vegetation.

• If you have a captive ornate box turtle from Arizona that you can no longer care for, contact Game and Fish in Tucson at 520-628-5376.

Tortured Turtle Has 6-Inch Nail Pulled at Hamptons Rescue - via Herp DIgest

By Mike Di Paola - Jul 24, 2012 , Bloomberg News - The X-ray was horrific, showing a side view of a box turtle that had been impaled by a 6-inch nail running through its back and out the bottom shell.

“I put up a $10,000 reward to try to find the person who violated this poor, innocent animal,” said Karen Testa, director of Turtle Rescue of the Hamptons Inc. in Jamesport, New York, a new facility in eastern Long Island. She never found the psychopath, but she did save the turtle’s life.

An x-ray of a box turtle impaled by a large nail. The turtle was nursed back to health and will one day be released in the wild. Photographer: Mike Di Paola/Bloomberg

A Range Rover, the official vehicle of Turtle Rescue of the Hamptons. Wildlife rehabilitators are on call 24/7. Photographer: Mike Di Paola/Bloomberg

“It punctured a lung,” Testa said, “but lungs don’t collapse in turtles the way they do in humans, and he survived.”

The turtles brought to the Jamesport facility, a two-story 1929 farmhouse, are usually victims of human interaction -- hit by cars, dinged by boat propellers, hacked by lawnmowers or starved by ignorant owners.

Testa, a woman with endless energy and enthusiasm, took me through the facility, fitted with large plastic tubs, ultraviolet-B lighting, water hoses and medical equipment. Two volunteer wildlife rehabilitators administered to patients, while incessant birdsong chirped over a sound system.

From one tub, Testa lifted a tiny box turtle, which sat in her palm like a large coin. The hatchling had been stepped on shortly after emerging from its egg.

“It’s amazing what she’s been through,” Testa said. “Her eye was bulged out; one leg will always be paralyzed.” Although the creature was underweight, it had improved much since coming here.

The rescue keeps young or weak turtles until they are strong enough for release in the wild, a treacherous proposition for babies. “These are like potato chips to birds,” said Testa, tenderly returning her little ward to its tub.

Upstairs is an intensive care unit and an incubation room. Testa showed me a batch of diamondback terrapin eggs rescued from a local driveway. The babies will have a chance here.

We looked in on a female box turtle, a hit-and-run victim brought in the day the rescue opened in May. Her broken shell was held together with orthodontic braces. They saved her life, as well as three of her eggs, now warm and safe in the nearby incubator.

“We were going to euthanize but said, you know what, let’s just try. Maybe it’s good luck -- it was the first day we were open!”

The bruised turtle looked, to my untrained eye, as if she’d make it.

“She is our success story,” Testa said, beaming. “The people who brought her in call once a week for an update.”

If Testa is guardian angel to the Hamptons turtles, her partner, Sal Caliguri, is chief benefactor. The owner of Sal’s Auto Body of Smithtown, Saint James, Caliguri purchased and donated the $450,000 house and property, and he has paid for many of the accoutrements as well, including a Range Rover used for the rescue calls, which are made 24/7.

Caliguri’s largesse notwithstanding, Testa spends much of her time fundraising. The nonprofit’s annual operating budget is about $33,000, including $8,000 for property tax and $2,500 in turtle food. Cor-J Seafood Corp. of Hampton Bays donates fresh fish to ease the strain.

Some turtles will never be released into the wild, because their injuries are too severe or because they are too tame from their time as pets. They will have a safe and rather pampered existence in the backyard, which is being landscaped into a sanctuary.

There are man-made ponds, running filtered water, an electrified fence to thwart raccoons and other predators, and a cold frame greenhouse to keep box turtles segregated from snapping turtles.

Inside the greenhouse there’s access to shade, sunlight and running water, and more fresh herbs than a farmer’s market. If the box turtles tire of sage, thyme, mint or oregano, they have kale, lettuce, strawberry, blueberry and tomato to round out the diet.

“This is where the turtles are going to live out the rest of their lives,” Testa said. “And they live a long time.”

That is, as long as they have Testa and the other volunteers to care for them. Keeping that up will also require the generosity of donors, so pitch in via the website or Facebook page.

Holland Cokeley, Penn. Father, Finds Turtle Son Carved Initials Into 47 Years Ago

One day in 1965, a 13-year-old boy named Jeff Cokeley discovered a box turtle on his family's farm in southwestern Pennsylvania. The youngster carved his initials and date into the turtle's shell and then let it go -- possibly hoping by some hand of fate, he would see the creature again someday.

So when Jeff Cokeley received a phone call and a picture from his father on Friday saying the turtle had been found, he "just started laughing" and "had to show [his] wife," according to the Observer Reporter. His father Holland Cokeley, 85, was walking a dog on his farm when the pooch discovered the turtle and its unmistakeable markings.

"I picked it up, and I thought ‘Oh geez, this is Jeff's turtle!’" Holland Cokeley told KDKA Pittsburgh. "It's been here for 47 years, and it still has the same -- the same -- markings on it."

Continued and video at:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/06/holland-cokeley-penn-father-turtle-initials-carved-47-video_n_1490924.html?fb_action_ids=10150800455674531%2C10150875218509492%2C10150755101288214&fb_action_types=news.reads&fb_ref=type%3Aread%2Cuser%3A9Lk1J7nrW8rS

Turtles Invade JFK Airport Tarmac

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/09/turtles-invade-jfk-airpor_n_228527.html

NEW YORK (AP) -- A runway at John F. Kennedy International Airport was shut down briefly Wednesday morning after at least 78 turtles emerged from a nearby bay and crawled onto the tarmac.

Ground crews eventually rounded up the wayward reptiles and deposited them back in the brackish water farther from airport property, but not before the incident disrupted JFK's flight schedule and contributed to delays that reached nearly 1 1/2 hours.

Read on...

Dogged Turtle Search- Wild home of rare Vietnamese box turtle discovered (Via Herp Digest)

Dogged Turtle Search- Wild home of rare Vietnamese box turtle discovered
by David Malakoff April 25, 2011, based on paper cited below.

A trio of turtle-sniffing dogs - and some clever detective work - has enabled researchers to discover where a rare Vietnamese turtle makes its home in the wild. The find could help preserve the endangered species, which had been known only from Asian markets.

Asia's turtles are facing a severe "crisis" due to overhunting, "and most species are now at risk of extinction," report Tri Ly and Huy Duc Hoang of Vietnam's University of Science in Ho Chi Minh City, and Bryan L. Stuart of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, in Biological Conservation. Adding to the problem is that some species are known only from markets and have never been studied in the wild. For instance, the Vietnamese box turtle (Cuora picturata) - a species that scientists first recognized in 1998 - only had been seen for sale in southern Vietnam.

To focus their search for where the hefty, domed reptiles were coming from, the researchers looked at genetic data and tracked patterns in the turtle trade. Eventually, they focused on the Langbian Plateau of southern Vietnam. Then, they launched three field surveys in 2010 and 2011, assisted by three dogs owned by local villagers. "Dogs are commonly used by hunters in Southeast Asia, and are more efficient than humans at locating terrestrial turtles," the team notes.

The human-canine partnership worked, turning up eight of the rare turtles. "All were located by the dogs on the floor of broadleaf evergreen mixed with bamboo forest," the researchers report. "Unfortunately, large areas of forest on the plateau are being rapidly converted to coffee plantations and other agricultural lands, and local residents harvest and sell the species to commercial traders. Only one of the three localities. is currently protected."

Still, the discovery "offers some hope in the 'Asian turtle crisis,'" they write. And it suggests that "the mysterious origins" of other turtles known only from markets could be revealed with some focused effort. For instance, three other species of very rare Asian box turtles, - Zhou's box turtle (C. zhoui), McCord's box turtle (C. mccordi), and the Yunnan box turtle (C. yunnanensis), "are known to scientists only by turtles bearing price tags."

Source: Ly, T., Hoang, H., & Stuart, B. (2011). Market turtle mystery solved in Vietnam. Biological Conservation DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2011.03.004

Discovery of Cuora picturata in the Wild (Via Herp Digest)

I am pleased to report the discovery of Cuora picturata in the wild based on field observations of eight turtles in southern Vietnam. This species had previously been known to scientists only from animals found in trade. The fieldwork was performed by Tri Ly, who is a Vietnamese student at University of Science, Ho Chi Minh City, with primary support from the Turtle Conservation Fund.

The in press version of the paper has been released on the journal's website. The paper and its online Appendix can be downloaded here: www.files.me.com/bryanlstuart/xpn7mn

Ly, T., H. D. Hoang, and B. L. Stuart. In press. Market turtle mystery solved in Vietnam. Biological Conservation.

Abstract

Asian turtles are overharvested for food, medicinal purposes and pets, and most species are now at risk of extinction ('Asian turtle crisis'). As a result of high levels of trade, some species of Asian turtles are known to science mostly or only from animals found in trade. The Vietnamese box turtle (Cuora picturata) was described in 1998 and is known only from markets. This species is likely to be highly threatened, and identifying the origin of this ''market species'' is imperative if it is to be conserved. We used evidence from phylogeny, biogeography and trade patterns to focus field searches for this species, and in July 2010-January 2011 found it in the wild at three localities on the Langbian Plateau of southern Vietnam. This discovery provides the first opportunity to conserve the Vietnamese box turtle, and provides hope for determining the wild origin of other rare Asian turtles that remain known only from commercial trade.

This is not the normal sort of source for news stories here on the newsblog, but having thought long and hard, it IS a news item, and belongs here rather than on the main blog. It is also jolly good news. Well done chaps JD

Just a little guy: Baby turtles, offspring of survivors of the oil spill in the Kalamazoo River, hatch (Via HerpDigest)

Just a little guy: Baby turtles, offspring of survivors of the oil spill in the Kalamazoo River, hatch

Published: Saturday, April 02, 2011, 6:00 AM Updated: Saturday, April 02, 2011, 3:18 PM

Kalamazoo Gazette

MARSHALL - Robert Doherty slowly lifts the cover on a plastic tray and carefully reaches into a small compartment, pinching a small miracle.

Between his thumb and index finger a 1-day-old box turtle hatchling stills itself, a yellow egg sac still attached to the underside of its inch-long body.

Here, in a section of the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center set up last summer in Marshall in the wake of the Enbridge Energy Partners LP oil spill, a makeshift neonatal unit has been established to care for the first generation of turtles to be born from parents affected by the spill.

And as much as the Kalamazoo River has a long way to go before it's back to its pre-spill state, these births mark an example of the resilience of the river's wildlife, a metaphor for the rebirth of the waterway after one of the worst oil spills in Midwest history.

From ducks to swans to muskrats and other species, nearly 3,000 animals that were captured last summer and fall, a vast majority having come in contact with the heavy crude oil that leaked from an Enbridge pipeline near Marshall.

But turtles took the brunt of the environmental tragedy, with community members, wildlife officials and others collecting about 2,700 of them, by far the most of all the animals captured. Of that total, about 2,100 were released back into the wild last fall after they were cleaned with, of all things, mayonnaise, which breaks down petrochemicals.

Of the turtles captured, only 10 died.

Doherty, a senior scientist and ecologist with Stantec Consulting, a multi-service engineering and environmental firm, said he believes it was the largest-ever freshwater turtle rescue operation. "The degree to which the community was involved was amazing," he said. "These hatchlings really are small miracles. They're a sign that the river is coming back."

Those turtles that were not released took refuge at the rehabilitation center for the winter. Ninety-four, 400-gallon tubs sit in a large warehouse area at the center. The sound of swirling water fills the room. At first look, the room looks like some sort of decontamination site, with each tub encircled by a white shower curtain (officials don't want the turtles getting used to seeing humans) and the rush of chilly filtered air overhead.

But behind the curtains, the survivors of the spill emerge in their artificial - but homey - habitat, complete with logs and rocks and infrared lamps to keep the cold-blooded turtles warm. In one tub, three small box turtles that had been warming themselves on a log beneath the lamp jump into the water with three small plops. In another, a 40-year-old turtle slowly extends his head from his sheath of neck skin and turns his eyes toward Doherty as if to say hello.

"We want to give them the best environment possible," Doherty said. "They deserve it." Later this month or in early May, the turtles will be released back into the wild, Doherty said. The exact location of where each turtle was collected was plotted with GPS technology, so that when they go home, they arrive at a place that's familiar.

"To be able to put these turtles back just feels really good," said Kevin O'Connor, public information officer for Enbridge.

In a dark corner of the basement of the center, beneath the lids of large Tupperware plastic bins, more miracles are occurring.

Doherty lifts the lid on one bin. Inside, a box turtle was making its slow exit from an egg. After incubating for about 50 days, it takes a turtle hatchling almost three days to fully emerge - exhausted - from the tiny egg. "Pretty neat, huh?," Doherty said. "Another miracle."