So, somewhere in June, Dr. Roger Wood, the Director of Research at the Wetlands Institute took a few of us interns went to New York to attend an Annual Turtle and Tortoise Show hosted by the New York Turtle and Tortoise Society (NYTTS).

The NYTTS Turtle Show was similar to the CTTC-Valley Turtle Show in a sense that both were turtle shows organized by turtle lovers, for turtle lovers :)

The Turtle Show was held at a school in Greenwich Village, lower Manhattan in New York City. Turtle keepers (is that even the correct term to use?) arrived in the morning and started putting up tables and chairs to display their turtles (or collection of turtles). There were also turtle lovers who did not display turtles, but turtle-products for sale.

One of the differences between the CTTC-Valley Turtle Show and the NYTTS Turtle Show was that turtle keepers at the NYTTS Turtle Show were awarded coloured ribbons as a means of recognizing their efforts. So, halfway through the show, a few judges visited all the turtles and offer advice (if needed) and then judge the turtles based on a few criteria such as the duration the keeper has been taking care of the turtles, whether the turtle is a common or rare species, etc. A best-in-show trophy was also given to the best-in-show turtle..

And this year’s trophy winners were brother-and-sister Christopher and Lauren Cho, who brought a breeding pair of juvenile Japanese leaf turtles (Geoemyda japonica), a rare species.

But guess what happen when the announcer announced Christopher as the best-in-show winner? Lauren was expecting her name to be called too, but when she didn’t hear her name, she just ran towards her Mum and started crying. Very loudly. And we all thought that she was so adorable. But of course, the announcer quickly added, “Christopher and Lauren Cho..” and she wiped her tears, and walked up to receive the trophy. And in less than 15 seconds, she was smiling away for the cameras! :D

More pictures take during the NYTTS Annual Turtle and Tortoise Show here.