Saturday, March 2, the Houston Zoo will be celebrating Save a Turtle Saturday!   The Naturally Wild Swap Shop will be participating along with the other activities going on though out the zoo.

Three-toed Box Turtle

On Save a Turtle Saturday, any item involving turtles or how plastic pollution affects them will receive double points.

• That includes:    Turtle shells, scutes, bones or scales,  journals on turtles or tortoises and journals on how plastic pollution affects turtles.

There are many species of turtles and tortoises in the world and several of them are threatened or endangered.  The IUCN Red List of Endangered Species includes turtles and tortoises that rank from threatened to no longer present in the wild.  This list is long, but includes amazing species such as the Central American River Turtle, Geometric Tortoise, Madagascar Big-headed Turtle and ALL six species of sea turtles found in the United States. 

One of the biggest hazards to sea turtles is plastic pollution.  Hundreds of thousands of sea turtles and other marine mammals die each year from ocean pollution such as ingestion or entanglement in marine debris.  Sea turtles often mistake plastic bags for jellyfish and ingest them, leading to blockage and eventual death.  Marine debris,

Green Sea Turtle

  including items such as these plastic bags, plastic drink rings and other items, are a huge threat to our marine life.

Don’t know about the Swap Shop?  Click here for more information.