After saying goodbye to all the Summer Interns at the Wetlands Institute, I went to the Chelonian Research Institute in Oviedo, Florida.

The Chelonian Research Institute was established in 1998 by Dr. Peter Pritchard, and is an international leader in research and conservation of turtles and tortoises of the world. The Institute features a research facility, library, offices, museum, residence for visiting scientists and a sanctuary. Situated on a 10-acre forested urban oasis, the facility boasts a beautiful natural landscape, shared by nature’s wildlife, including wild turkeys, birds of prey, and several species of snakes.

What is most amazing is that it houses more than 13,000 catalogued specimens — the world’s third largest turtle and tortoise museum collection — including 270 of the world’s 300 recognized species of turtles. In fact, every living genus of chelonians is represented here.

You know, Dr. Peter Pritchard is one of those people we (turtle students) dream of meeting, and his collection of papers and books in the library is one that you can only dream of seeing. Plus, his entire collection of preserved turtle specimens is something you’ve never dreamed possible.

So it was truly a dream come true to me, to be able to meet “THE” Peter Pritchard in person, to live in his house, to eat in his kitchen, to read his books, you get the drift..

Seriously, I met Peter Pritchard, can you believe it?! :upsidedown:

More pictures taken at the Chelonian Research Institute.

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.

The Research Team at the Wetlands Institute not only conducts scientific research to increase the survival of the diamondback terrapins in the area. And one of the “other” activities that we do is host terrapin releases throughout the summer.

Terrapin hatchlings that hatched and emerged last summer/fall were sent to the head-starting facility at the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey (affectionately known as Stockton College). The care taker, John, raises the hatchlings for about 10 months — he takes care of their nutritional needs and makes sure that the hatchlings do not kill each other :D

The highlight of all the terrapin releases, especially at the beginning of the summer, was definitely the release by the Avalon/Stone Harbor kindergarteners. Every year, under the guidance and supervision of their teacher, Mrs. Dean, the kindergarteners bake turtle cookies and sell them for a quarter (25 cents) a piece to anybody who would buy them to raise funds for the Wetlands Institute. And because these kids couldn’t really count well, you know how messy it is when it comes to counting their “profits”. And they would then hold hands and run across the street to the bank to deposit the money that they raise :D

A local bank who serves the Cape May County of New Jersey exclusively, Sturdy Savings Bank, matches dollar-for-dollar the amount that the kindergarteners raise and on top of that, makes a generous donation to the Wetlands Institute as well :D

On the day of the release, Scute, the terrapin mascot will usually make an appearance to “meet and greet” everybody.

Before the terrapin release, Dr. Roger Wood, the Director of Research usually gives a briefing to the audience about the life history of the diamondback terrapin, the threats to their survival and the projects that are being conducted at the Wetlands Institute. He would then demonstrate to the audience the right way of holding a terrapin so that it does not scratch or bite the person holding it — and he calls this the “turtle handshake”. And because the kids are all so eager to hold a terrapin, everybody pays 100% attention to him :D

When we’re done with the briefing, each intern will be in charge of one (or more) kindergartener and we will all hold hands and walk towards the dock where the terrapins will be released.

At the dock, once again we emphasize the importance of holding the terrapin in a correct way so that neither the terrapin nor the kid would be hurt in the process. And we line them up along the dock so that they will be able to see how the release is performed.

More pictures taken during the various terrapin releases here:

• by special kids @ Ocean City, NJ
• by school children @ Somers Point, NJ
• by Avalon and Stone Harbor kindergarteners @ The Wetlands Institute, NJ
• by the Philadelphia Zoo campers @ Avalon Public Marina, NJ
• by donors/adopters @ The Wetlands Institute, NJ

We believe that these releases are important to educate the public on the importance of helping to conserve the diamondback terrapins. It is very heart-warming to see how some kids become so affectionately attached to the terrapin that they had just “known” in a short hour.