When a malnourished tortoise named Mikey landed on a new owner’s doorstep in 2009, he found a second chance. Many other turtles and tortoises aren’t so lucky — and that’s what World Turtle Day is about.
Today marks the 11th annual observance of World Turtle Day, begun by the California-based American Tortoise Rescue “to help people celebrate and protect turtles and tortoises.”
“These gentle animals have been around for about 200 million years, yet they are rapidly disappearing as a result of the exotic-food industry, habitat destruction and the cruel pet trade,” said Susan Tellem, a co-founder of American Tortoise Rescue.
Mikey’s family couldn’t care for him anymore, so they dropped the very ill sulcata tortoise with Brett Neilsen, president of Rocky Mountain Reptile Rescue. Neilsen said Mikey was in terrible condition.
“We examined him and found out he was stunted and part of his beak was missing due to poor care and poor nutrition,” Neilsen said. “It took us six months of rehab to get him to eat seminormally.”
Although Mikey is more than 10 years old, he is only 9 inches long. An average sulcata Mikey’s age is more than 2 feet long, Neilsen said.
“Mikey is a huge part of our education programs and an ambassador to show what can happen to an animal if you don’t do your homework,” Neilsen said.
Colorado Reptile Humane Society executive director Ann-Elizabeth Nash said turtles caught in the wild and brought home as pets are often improperly cared for or simply abandoned — a virtual death sentence for an animal that has been in captivity, Nash said.
“They probably wouldn’t make it if you dumped them into your local pond,” she said.
Nash, 47, is also leading the charge on a project that aims to find out more about the ornate box turtle, a species often taken from its natural habitat on Colorado’s plains to become pets.
No studies have been done on these turtles in Colorado, and it’s important to find out if the population is declining, she said.
World Turtle Day stresses awareness of the problem as a major part of bettering the conditions of the animals, and Neilsen said letting people know the consequences of interfering with wild turtles is an important step.
“We do have the philosophy that we need to keep the wild, wild,” he said.
Kyle Glazier: 303-954-1638 or kglazier@denverpost.com
