Introducing the Turtle
During our daily creek walks, we’ve discovered turtles live there. They are not always visible, but when we are lucky, we find one or more sunning themselves on a nice day. This led us to learn more about these fascinating creatures.
The turtle is a “shore” creature, using land and water as its habitat. Because of its slow metabolism, turtles can be quite long-lived and grow very large, depending upon the species.
We came across these turtles sunning at the Creek. As reptiles, they are cold-blooded. Turtles sunbathe to regulate their body temperature.
Turtles can be found around the world, and May 23 is celebrated annually as World Turtle Day. This celebration was started in the year 2000 by the American Tortoise Rescue. The goal is to increase the knowledge of and respect for turtles and tortoises while encouraging human action to help them survive and thrive. It’s appropriate to note there is a difference between a turtle and tortoise. A tortoise lives on land, while a turtle, as mentioned above, lives both in and around water.
Turtles have wonderful survival skills. They have a good sense of hearing and can sense vibration in the water through their skin and shell. Turtles have a sense of smell, and they can also distinguish some colors.
A turtle’s diet is varied, and they are considered “opportunistic.” Therefore, they will eat insects, plants, fish and amphibians. They are also a food source for animals such as the raccoon, so their keen hearing and sense of smell come in handy for survival against predators.
Turtles reproduce by laying eggs which are buried along the water’s shore. When the eggs hatch, young turtles must find their way to the water without assistance. And the circle of life continues.
We also made a short video of the turtles below. Visit our YouTube channel for more!