BROOKSIDE NATURE CENTER, Md. - Wednesday, May 23 marks World Turtle Day. The shelled creatures got a lot of love online with the hashtag #WorldTurtleDay, but perhaps there's nowhere in the world where they got more love than right here in Maryland and the D.C. area.
To 'shell-ebrate' our affection for turtles (#FearTheTurtle), here are 11 facts you might not have known about turtles in the DMV.
- There are 19 species of turtles in the DMV region, including land-dwellers like Eastern Box Turtles, water lovers like the Giant Snapping Turtle, threatened species like the Maryland Diamondback Terrapin and sea turtles like Loggerheads that breed on Assateague Island.
- The Maryland Terrapin mascot has been voted one of the 12 coolest mascots in American sports by PawCulture.com.
- The C&O Canal National Historic Park is one of the best places in the region to view turtles. Look on logs and rocks for sunbathing species.
- The town of Port Deposit, Md. has dedicated a building and a section of its waterfront to preserve and celebrate the rare Northern Map Turtle, which has a unique pattern on its shell resembling a pirate treasure map.
- The Maryland Terrapin has been protected by law since 2007, after decades of over harvesting for popular turtle soup recipes. The species is still threatened by habitat destruction and encounters with commercial fishing nets, according to the Maryland-based Terrapin Institute.
- It is illegal to sell wild turtles as pets in Maryland and Virginia.
- Seventy percent of turtles brought to wildlife rehabilitators have been injured by cars, lawn mowers or weed whackers, according to the experts at Montgomery County Maryland's Brookside Nature Center.
- It is illegal for turtles under 4" in length to be sold in pet stores because they can spread Salmonella bacteria to humans through handling.
- The most recent turtle habitat restoration project in Maryland was recently completed at the Annapolis Harbour Center with the help of a number of preservation groups, including the South River Federation.
- If you see a turtle crossing a road, be mindful that if you move the turtle to the side where it started from--instead of the side it is headed to--it will almost always put itself in danger by crossing again. Instead, move the turtle to the side it is moving toward and congratulate yourself for helping out a turtle.
- Some species of turtles found in our region have been known to live as long as 60 years in the wild.
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