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World Turtle Day

Animal · May 23

World Turtle Day turns attention to turtles and tortoises, the slow, shelled reptiles found in ponds, oceans, deserts and backyards.

World Turtle Day falls on Sunday, May 23, 2027. That is 208 days away.

Turtles carry their houses with them, and the house is part of the animal. A turtle's shell is built from bone and fused to its spine and ribs, so it can never step out of it the way cartoons suggest.

The group is wider than most people picture. Sea turtles cross open oceans and come ashore to lay eggs in sand. Freshwater turtles bask on logs in ponds and slip into the water at the first footstep. Tortoises live on land, with heavy, rounded shells and sturdy legs made for walking rather than swimming. All of them are reptiles, and all of them lay eggs.

Most people mark the day by paying closer attention. A walk by a pond on a sunny afternoon often turns up a row of turtles lined up on a branch, warming themselves. Nature centers and aquariums sometimes keep turtles where visitors can watch them eat, swim or do very little at all.

The kindest way to admire a wild turtle is from a short distance. Turtles crossing roads are usually heading somewhere specific, often toward water or a nesting spot. If one is moved out of traffic where it is safe to do so, it should go in the direction it was already walking.

Many turtles live a long time, which means the turtle sunning itself on a log may well have been sitting on logs in that same pond for years.

Ways to celebrate

• Visit a local pond and look for turtles basking on logs.
• Watch the turtles at a nearby nature center or aquarium.
• Read a library book about sea turtles or tortoises.
• Learn which turtle species live in your state.
• Watch for turtles crossing roads when driving near water.

Dates

All national days on May 23

Also on May 23

• National Taffy Day
• Lucky Penny Day

Categories: Animal days