Vulnerable Archives - Turtle Survival Alliance

Eastern Chicken Turtle

Vanessa Ambas — Thu, 31 Jul 2025 17:58:36 +0000

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Dunn’s Mud Turtle

Vanessa Ambas — Mon, 28 Jul 2025 15:13:17 +0000

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Central Chiapas Mud Turtle

Vanessa Ambas — Mon, 28 Jul 2025 14:35:37 +0000

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Chaco Tortoise

Vanessa Ambas — Thu, 24 Jul 2025 19:18:04 +0000

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Red-footed Tortoise

Vanessa Ambas — Thu, 24 Jul 2025 19:05:49 +0000

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Carolina Diamondback Terrapin

Vanessa Ambas — Thu, 24 Jul 2025 18:33:10 +0000

Through the brackish water of here in South Carolina is the vulnerable species the Diamondback Terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin). It is a turtle found through Massachusetts down through Texas, and can be identified by its beautiful ornate skin that can go from olive green to white with black spots. They are the only turtle that can withstand changes in salinity so they swim through saltier water. Beach surveys and NAFTRG help them.

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Eastern Box Turtle

Vanessa Ambas — Thu, 31 Aug 2023 17:58:49 +0000

Eastern Box Turtles are found as far north as Maine, and as far west as Texas. They are also often found around the property at the Turtle Survival Center.

The Eastern Box Turtle faces threats of habitat destruction and fragmentation, which can lead to an increase in road and railroad mortality. Although it is now protected from commercial collection in every state in which it naturally occurs, the illegal pet trade is still a large threat to this turtle. Turtle Survival Alliance has been instrumental in advocating for changes to laws which now protect this species.

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Alligator Snapping Turtle

Vanessa Ambas — Fri, 21 Jul 2023 16:07:57 +0000

Alligator Snapping Turtles are a benthic dweller of the waterbodies they inhabit, typically favoring the deepest part of the waterway. They are most active during the night when they may traverse through their home range actively feeding and scavenging. This species feeds on carrion, fish, reptiles (including other turtles), amphibians, arthropods, mollusks, annelids, mammals, and aquatic vegetation. During the day, this species is highly inactive, and may sit motionless on the bottom of the water column for hours at a time. However, they have evolved a unique adapation to still feed while relatively inactive. Equipped with a worm-like appendage in their mouths, this turtle will sit motionless in the water, moving the “lure” to attract prey such as fish, which it will bite down upon once inside the widely-opened jaws. A solitary species by nature, the Alligator Snapping Turtle has an average home range of just under 0.80 km, of which it typically uses a submerged object to define the core of its range (Riedle, et al., 2006). Individuals may however make considerable movements of several kilometers up and downstream from its home range. An obligate aquatic, this species rarely leaves the water except to lay eggs, or if displaced by flooding events. Females will migrate to nesting sites tens of meters away from the waterline to deposit up to 50 or more eggs. This species was heavily hunted for commercial and personal consumption in the past leading to localized and range-wide population declines. It is now protected from hunting in every state in which it resides, with the exception of Louisiana, where one individual may be collected per day for personal use.

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