FAQ
1) Do I get to keep the turtle I adopt?
Answer: No, by adopting a turtle you are supporting a wild turtle that the WU Turtle team has found in the field. All turtles stay in the wild. Adopting a turtle will help pay for the equipment and gear necessary to track turtles in the field. An adopted turtle may or may not get a transmitter but either way is an important turtle to the study.
2) Can I name the turtle I want to Adopt?
Answer: Yes! If you want to name a turtle you should email [email protected] with the name you have picked out. You will have to be patient on getting your Adoption Certificate though, as we may go several weeks without finding a new turtle to name.
3) Can I see my turtle in-person?
Answer: As these are all turtles found and kept in the wild it is unlikely that you will be able to see your adopted turtle firsthand as we must protect the location of our field sites and study populations due to the ongoing threats of poaching. We do regularly take photos of our study animals and they can be sent to you upon request (via [email protected])
4) Does this program actually help box turtles?
Answer: We certainly think so! We strive to protect our box turtles at all cost. We inform landowners and habitat managers of best practices for turtles (including ways of altering mowing strategies, timing of burnings, protecting nesting and brumation locations, planting native plants, reducing use of pesticides/insecticides, etc). We strongly believe research informs education, and education informs conservation. Members of the WU Turtle team regularly give public presentations to community groups of all ages (children through adults) all with the shared message of protecting box turtles, their habitat, and beyond.
P.S.- Please help turtles cross roads whenever you can!
5) How else can I get involved aside from donating money?
Answer:
6) Can I adopt more than one turtle?
Answer: Yes, absolutely! Please adopt as many as you want! Only a very small proportion of our study turtles are currently adopted right now.
7) How can a student get involved with research?
Answer: Contact Dr. Benjamin Reed via [email protected] and he will be glad to answer all of your questions and if it seems like a good fit he will get you started on a project in line with your interests and that of the turtles.
1) Do I get to keep the turtle I adopt?
Answer: No, by adopting a turtle you are supporting a wild turtle that the WU Turtle team has found in the field. All turtles stay in the wild. Adopting a turtle will help pay for the equipment and gear necessary to track turtles in the field. An adopted turtle may or may not get a transmitter but either way is an important turtle to the study.
2) Can I name the turtle I want to Adopt?
Answer: Yes! If you want to name a turtle you should email [email protected] with the name you have picked out. You will have to be patient on getting your Adoption Certificate though, as we may go several weeks without finding a new turtle to name.
3) Can I see my turtle in-person?
Answer: As these are all turtles found and kept in the wild it is unlikely that you will be able to see your adopted turtle firsthand as we must protect the location of our field sites and study populations due to the ongoing threats of poaching. We do regularly take photos of our study animals and they can be sent to you upon request (via [email protected])
4) Does this program actually help box turtles?
Answer: We certainly think so! We strive to protect our box turtles at all cost. We inform landowners and habitat managers of best practices for turtles (including ways of altering mowing strategies, timing of burnings, protecting nesting and brumation locations, planting native plants, reducing use of pesticides/insecticides, etc). We strongly believe research informs education, and education informs conservation. Members of the WU Turtle team regularly give public presentations to community groups of all ages (children through adults) all with the shared message of protecting box turtles, their habitat, and beyond.
P.S.- Please help turtles cross roads whenever you can!
5) How else can I get involved aside from donating money?
Answer:
- Be a contributor to our photo archive whenever you find a box turtle on your travels.
- Help educate others on box turtle ecology that you know to be true from our team's research or the published scientifically reviewed literature.
- Inform others of our Adopt-A-Turtle Program! Advertise in-person, online, and through social media. Anything helps!
- Help turtles crossing roads. Help support local turtle rehabilitators that painstakingly care for injured turtles, mostly from cars and other machinery. In Topeka, KS that would be superwoman Mitzi Cafer.
- Raise your mower decks. Accept having slightly taller grass is better for lots of wildlife.
- Don't collect turtles from the wild to keep. Encourage others not to collect either. Box turtles from the wild do not make good pets, especially for children. Their care workload is intense and their health rapidly declines in captivity. Taking turtles from the wild to serve as pets for kids so they can become 'educated' is not the right approach. Unless you know exactly how to care for a box turtle, you child will not be educated properly. In addition, a captive turtle will not display the same types of behaviors as it would in the wild. Go out and find turtles in the field and learn from them there! And then leave them for next time or someone else to enjoy.
6) Can I adopt more than one turtle?
Answer: Yes, absolutely! Please adopt as many as you want! Only a very small proportion of our study turtles are currently adopted right now.
7) How can a student get involved with research?
Answer: Contact Dr. Benjamin Reed via [email protected] and he will be glad to answer all of your questions and if it seems like a good fit he will get you started on a project in line with your interests and that of the turtles.