Letter from Little Nick

Letter from Little Nick
Originally uploaded by Nick Peters

Little Nick adopted a three-toed boxie from us last weekend. His mom and Godmother EV went to University with Linda and have been to visit the turtle ranch before. His mom decided that they were ready to foster a turtle, so one of the feisty males, Scratch, moved down to Portland.

Philbert

Philbert
Originally uploaded by Nick Peters

This is Philly, She is Duwumps latest big Russian girl. She, at some point, had a split shell that was repaired, so she is pretty scarred up. I trimmed her nails and her beak and she is integrating herself in with the other big girls really well. Ivan is smitten and follows her around.

turtle bread

turtle bread
Originally uploaded by Nick Peters

new russian tortoise hatched

new russian tortoise
Originally uploaded by Nick Peters

Turtles go high-tech to help scientists understand their movements

Mike Jones uses duct tape to secure a GPS beacon to ithe back of a 40-pound snapping turtle.

By Associated Press

DEERFIELD, Mass. (AP) - From the way he thrashed his head, kicked and tried to make a getaway, M16 made it clear he didn't like human contact. But the researchers wrangling with him could be helping to save his species.

Despite his best efforts to escape the clutches of two scientists from the University of Massachusetts and get back to the swamp he was just lifted from, the 40-pound snapping turtle finally gave up and let Mike Jones and Matt Garber do their jobs.

Using a combination of orthodontic cement and duct tape, the students attached a postcard-sized waterproof computer to the turtle's shell. After christening the 16th male turtle he found in the area as "M16," Jones scribbled some information about the turtle's shell markings into a field book and set the snapper free.

Knowing where M16 goes could help scientists protect him.

In an experiment taking place along the Deerfield River in western Massachusetts, two otherwise unrelated groups of researchers are working together: computer engineers like Garber who are testing a new wireless communication network, and biologists like Jones who are tracking snapping turtles - a species they worry may be headed for decline as land development shrinks their habitat.

The idea behind the technology is to create a network of constantly moving devices that record and store information, transmit data from one device to another, then relay all the saved information to a central location while running on self-charging batteries.

"A lot of the existing technology works great as long as you're not moving around and you have stable networks and people who could recharge batteries," said Jacob Sorber, a doctoral candidate in computer science who designed the network he calls TurtleNet, a project funded by grants from the National Science Foundation.

The solar-powered computers are light enough so they don't weigh the turtles down, and they don't interrupt their mating habits, Jones said.

Stuck to the shells of about 15 turtles found in spots near the Deerfield swamp, the gadgets will take periodic readings of the reptiles' location and body temperature.

When one computer-carrying snapper gets within a tenth-of-a-mile of another, the machines swap information.

The series of short-distance transmissions allows for long battery life in each computer, and the solar panels attached to the units are expected to constantly keep the batteries charged. Without a relay system, a longer transmission would require a larger battery that would drain too quickly or be too big for a turtle to carry.

The turtle-to-turtle relay ends when one of the snappers passes near a single base station that receives all the accumulated information. While Jones thinks the snappers may roam up to 10 miles from the Deerfield swamp they know as home, he says it's in their nature to return to the bog where the base station is.

Working like a cell phone sending a text message, the base station zaps the data to the UMass-Amherst campus about 15 miles away, where biologists are charting each turtle's whereabouts.

"We're trying to get a better idea of their range, the routes they take and where they hibernate," said Jones, who is working on a doctoral degree in biology. "If you have that information for a good number of turtles, you can predict what their patterns will be for the next 50 years or so."

Booming land development and an increase in natural predators has landed seven of Massachusetts' 10 freshwater turtle species on the state's endangered species list. Snappers aren't there yet, but Jones and other biologists are concerned they're on their way.

"People think they're a nuisance, they're aggressive and they're smelly," he said. "And you see a lot of dead snappers on the side of the road. But most of the turtles that people are running over are mothers trying to get somewhere to nest."

By mapping where and how the snappers move, they're trying to generate enough information that could be used to help protect turtle habitats.

Until now, tracking turtles has been a difficult - and messy - business.

Jones has been following turtles around New England by attaching radio receivers to their shells. When he goes looking for them, he has to carry a radio receiver while wading through swamps and bushwhacking through woods hoping to pick up a signal. And the radio batteries are good for only about two years.

If TurtleNet - which was launched in June - works, he'll be able to spend less time hunting for his subjects. The computers should let him know where the turtles are at any time.

Researchers from Princeton University have been using a similar technology during the past five years to track zebras in Kenya. Unlike TurtleNet, the Princeton project uses computers with larger batteries that could be more easily carried on collars attached to the strong, fast-moving zebras.

Still, the end result is the same, and the Princeton scientists say their studies have shed new light on the animals' migratory patterns.

"These are early examples of using computer engineering to answer questions about biology," said Margaret Martonosi, a professor of electrical engineering at Princeton. "If you know where these animals are going and how they're moving, you could take steps to better preserve the land and their habitat."

While the turtles may not be covering as much ground as the zebras, their interaction with people is increasing. And that puts them in more peril.

"You see a lot of them up the road this time of year," said Les Jackson, who works on a farm adjacent to the swamp where M16 was found.

Early summer is when turtles nest, and finding a place to lay their eggs often means crossing busy roads. The snappers Jackson was referring to were the ones he's seen crushed by cars.



Find this article at:
http://www.komotv.com/news/tech/8320047.html

With my Central American Ornate Wood Turtles

With my Central American Ornate Wood Turtles
Originally uploaded by Nick Peters

it was in the 80's today, so my little friends from down south got to go outside for a hang out in the plastic tub.

Saving our shelled brethren. Follow your local rules.

Common sense hides under a shell


Rick Estberg of Severna Park, who had most of his turtles confiscated by state wildlife officials, holds one of the four he was able keep. He hopes the state will reconsider.
By ERIC HARTLEY, Staff Writer

For 15 years, Rick Estberg has been the "turtle man" in his Severna Park neighborhood.
People bring him turtles they find, sometimes sick or injured ones, and he takes them in. Kids come over to ask if they can see or hold one of the creatures.

He's turned a fenced-off corner of his back yard into a little reptile paradise, with old plastic mailboxes on their sides so the turtles can get out of the rain and dead Christmas trees for them to burrow into.

Until recently, Mr. Estberg had a dozen Eastern box turtles. He said the state had known about this for years. Every year, when he sent in his form and paid his $25 license fee, Mr. Estberg listed the species on the form and wrote that he had 12 of them.

There were no problems until about a month ago, when he got a call from the Natural Resources Police. They needed to come talk about the turtles.

Within minutes of showing up, two officers and a civilian wildlife inspector were going to get crates to take them away.

It turns out a person is only allowed to have one Eastern box turtle taken from the wild. The Estbergs were able to keep four, but only through some quick thinking. They reasoned that Rick's wife, Lucie, and their two sons should each be allowed to keep one as well.

So Mr. Estberg had half an hour to pick out his favorites. He almost cried.

When police first called, they told him they try to work out problems like this amicably. Mr. Estberg thought that meant he'd be able to keep his turtles, especially after the visitors saw what care he'd taken with them.

Clearly, he'd forgotten he was dealing with the government.

Everyone was nice, even sympathetic, but there was no budging. Mr. Estberg said he'd pay whatever license fees the state wanted, promised not to take in any more turtles, offered to let the state inspect and monitor him as closely as they wished. No, no and no.

"They have a job. I certainly understand that," Mr. Estberg said. "I think you have to be able to have a little common sense while you're doing things, too."

Natural Resources Police said the problem with Mr. Estberg's turtles came to light during a "routine permit inspection." Sgt. Ken Turner, a police spokesman, said officers took no pleasure in seeing the animals seized.

"We can't pick and choose what violations or what regulations we're going to enforce," Sgt. Turner said.

And it's reasonable to argue that if one person gets an exception, everyone else is going to want special treatment, too.

But governments make exceptions to the rules all the time - for some people. If you're a rich developer who illegally builds a mansion on an island with no permits, sure, we can make an exception. If you're a guy with some turtles, sorry, rules are rules.

It's true, the law is right there in black and white: Of the reptiles possessed by an individual, "only one Eastern box turtle may have been taken from the wild."

But wait. There's also a Department of Natural Resources Web site that reads: "You need a permit if you possess more than 1 individual of each reptile or amphibian from List B. Only Eastern Box Turtles may have been obtained from the wild."

Note it says "turtles" plural. What is a citizen more likely to look at, an easily found DNR Web site or the Code of Maryland Regulations 08.03.11.05A(3)?

I visited Mr. Estberg, a 53-year-old National Security Agency employee, at his home to talk about how he came to be the turtle man.

"To me they're fascinating animals," he said.

Weighing around 1 pound, they have vivid colors and can live as long as humans, 75 to 80 years. They hibernate underground from mid-October to mid-April. And the rest of the year, they eat bugs, tomatoes, strawberries, dog food and their favorite, worms.

Mr. Estberg names them - yes, one is "Yertle" - and cares for them as tenderly as any parent, giving them vitamin A to prevent a common deficiency that can lead to blindness. At first he used a syringe; he's since gotten a veterinarian to prescribe it. He even became an "amateur surgeon," using an X-Acto knife to relieve an ear infection.

His other eight turtles were taken to an animal rescue operation in Laurel run by Holly Friedland. When the DNR first called her, she said it would be best if the turtles were left where they were.

"That was just my personal opinion," Ms. Friedland told me. "I sympathize with him, and I understand that he was trying to do a good thing. But he didn't go about it legally, so there's really nothing anybody can do to help him."

And now Mr. Estberg is left with the bitter realization that if he had never told the state about his turtles, he'd still have them. He had no idea about the rules until several years ago, when someone mentioned them to him casually.

"Then I start doing the right thing and start paying the money, and they come and take them away," he said.

What a good lesson: Sometimes, if you play by the rules, you get burned.

Contact Eric Hartley at ehartley@capitalgazette.com or 410-280-5950.

Turtle racing and beauty pagent season is upon us.

She added, "We will have a few box turtles for use in the race portion of the event, but these turtles will not be eligible for the beauty contest portion of the event. These turtles will be used by several children to race, so they are not eligible to be used in the beauty contest. You must provide your own turtle to be eligible for the beauty contest."