Green sea turtle with sardines near Playa Grandi, Curaçao
© yfhishinuma/Getty Images Plu
Move over fish—it’s World Turtle Day. Come out of your shell for World Turtle Day
Make way for the green sea turtle, which you’ll find—if you’re lucky—swimming in tropical and subtropical coastal waters around the world. You’ll notice that despite its name, the green sea turtle’s shell is not green at all. The name comes from the color of its fat, which takes on a greenish hue after the adult turtle starts eating seagrass and algae. Unfortunately, like many other sea turtle species, the green sea turtle is endangered and its population shrinking due to hunting, boat-propeller accidents, plastic pollution, and loss of nesting grounds.World Turtle Day was established in 2000 to protect turtles and tortoises and their threatened habitats around the world. Conservation efforts are led by several nonprofit organizations such as American Tortoise Rescue, which focuses on the rescue, rehabilitation, adoption, and protection of all turtle species. Since the organization’s inception it’s rescued or rehomed more than 4,000 turtles across the world through a combination of community outreach programs and financial contributions from donors.
Scuba diver exploring the underwater cenotes near Puerto Aventuras, Mexico
Surfers catching waves at Palm Beach on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Elephant walking in the Okavango River, Botswana
Long-beaked common dolphin pod and diving Cape gannets hunting sardines off the Eastern Cape, South Africa
Florida red-bellied turtle in Rainbow Springs, Rainbow Springs State Park, Florida
Mandarin duck hen with ducklings in South Korea
Mute swan chicks shelter under mom's tail feathers, Massapequa Preserve, Long Island, New York
Lake Tekapo with Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park in the background on New Zealand's South Island
