DAILY NEWS JOURNAL (Murfreesboro, Tennessee) 20 May 08 Celebrate World Turtle Day - Get an up-close look at our shell-covered friends (Dedra L. McDowell)

You're riding down the road when you notice a cute little turtle up ahead. He looks lost. What do you do? Do you put pick it up and move it back to where it came from? Do you take it home and keep it as a pet?

No, you can't keep him.

But if you'd like to see some turtles up close and personal, join Murfreesboro Parks and Recreation and The Discovery Center at Murfree Spring as they come together to celebrate World Turtle Day.

The festivities begin this Friday at 3:30 at the Murfree Spring Boardwalk behind Discovery Center, 502 S.E. Broad St., Murfreesboro.

This is the first time the organizations two have teamed up for the educational celebration.

Live turtles, microscopes, turtle-track snacks and hands-on activities highlight the event. Dr. Brian Miller, an advisory board member and MTSU professor, will also be on hand to discuss current research on local turtle populations. He'll also trap (and then release) some on-site turtles so participants can get an up-close look at the creatures, said Rachel Anderson of Discovery Center.

All outside activities are free.

Why box turtles?

Rachel Singer of Murfreesboro Parks and Recreation said she's excited about the opportunity to share information about these local reptiles.

"We're doing a population study of box turtles, the land turtles we have here in Tennessee," Singer explained.

Singer also coordinates year-round turtle searches, which are a part of the Parks and Recreation Department's research project, now in its second year.

"A lot of kids and homeschoolers will participate" in Friday's activities she said. The group is usually successful in finding a few turtles each time.

She also said there's concern as far as saving these turtles from extinction.

"With box turtles being so easy to catch, they're declining rapidly," Singer said.

The box turtle is listed as a species of concern, she noted. The next step following that is threatened, then endangered, followed by extinct.

"They're climbing the ladder we don't want them to climb," Singer said.

Why can't you keep it?

Turtles are "declining because of habitat loss, people taking them as pets. And a lot of people don't realize that it's illegal to have a turtle as a pet in Tennessee."

Sometimes families, while vacationing in Florida, where turtles are legal pets, will stop by a pet store and pick one up and bring it home. But even if the cute little reptiles are purchased outside of the state, they're still illegal to have.

But it's not a good idea to release the foreign species in the wild, either. It could have negative effects on the native species of turtles such as the introduction of disease.

What about the turtle crossing the road?

The best thing to do is when its safe, move the turtle across the road in the direction it was going, Singer said.

"And leave it to nature that it's going to find what it needs. They've been there for years and they know where to find food and shelter."

She said that at times, people mean well by moving a "lost" turtle out of its habitat to the wilderness, but it can cause too much confusion for the little creatures.

When you relocate a turtle, it no longer has a sense of surrounding and could spend all its time trying to get back to its original home, she said.

For more information on the turtle searches held throughout the year, contact Rachel Singer at 615-893-2141 or e-mail rsinger@murfreesborotn.gov.

All ages are welcome to Friday's program.

If you go

What: World Turtle Day Celebration

When: 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., Friday, May 23

Where: Discovery Center at Murfree Spring, 502 S.E. Broad St.

Cost: Free. To explore the inside of the Discovery Center, there is a $5 charge.
Celebrate World Turtle Day

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