Slow and Steady Turtle

Hello friends, how are you doing? Now we are into 4^th phase of lockdown with the hope that we will get some solution to this and will get back to the normal life. It is becoming never-ending with a lack of clarity on medicine and because of that everyone is becoming restless. It is very easy to say that keep calm, things will be fine, etc but at ground level, for poor people it is not easy to survive with the given situation hence I urge everyone to help who are in need of help. Help in terms of serving food items, necessities, not to cut their wages or any other way that can help them to survive. 

We need to do two things, one is to help underprivileged people, and the other is to keep ourselves safe by staying at home and keeping control over our frustration because “Slow and steady wins the race.” OMG, I got my topic for the day with this slogan, OMG today is World Turtle Day as well. 

Oh, what a coincidence and see the sequence, the current situation reminded me of a slogan, the slogan reminded me of Turtle and this lovely creature reminded me that today is its own day. So let’s celebrate World Turtle day by knowing facts of Turtle on this blog itself. 

Back to School Days

Slow and steady wins the race, this is such an old story cannot be measured in terms of years I believe, every generation has learned this story in school no doubt about it and it looks so real as well in this testing time. The moral of the story is if you have patience then it is certain that Victory at the end is going to be yours. (This is how with patience will help us to win over COVID). 

Similar to you all I was equally curious when I started wildlife and wanted to see Turtle in the forest. To see how it looks in reality, is it true that it is a very slow creature, etc. It was always on the lifer list to see and photograph it in a natural environment, the day I took the picture, it was a different feeling and it took me back to school memories, this is why I love Turtle so much. I am sure you are also feeling the same. 

What I explained above is a story we all know since ages and we have downloaded the same to our next generation but another story is there about Turtle that hardly anyone knows. Do you want to know? Let me think, should I disclose here or let it be hidden………………… ok let it be as "Learning" for you (its a hint, find out now), by the time you find out I will jump to the next section for fantastic fact.

Fantastic Facts

Turtles are reptiles of the order Testudines characterized by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs and acting as a shield

The earliest known members of this group date from the Middle Jurassic, making turtles one of the oldest reptile groups and a more ancient group than snakes or crocodilians

Turtles are ectotherms—animals commonly called cold-blooded—meaning that their internal temperature varies according to the ambient environment. However, because of their high metabolic rate, leatherback sea turtles have a body temperature that is noticeably higher than that of the surrounding water

Turtles are classified as amniotes, along with other reptiles, birds, and mammals. Like other amniotes, turtles breathe air and do not lay eggs underwater, although many species live in or around water

Turtles have a hard shell that protects them like a shield; this upper shell is called a ‘carapace’. Turtles also have a lower shell called a ‘plastron’. Just like your bones, a turtle’s shell is actually part of its skeleton. It is made up of over 50 bones, which include the turtle’s rib cage and spine

Sea turtles have special glands which help remove salt from the water they drink

Turtles are thought to have exceptional night vision due to the unusually large number of rod cells in their retinas. Turtles have color vision with a wealth of cone subtypes with sensitivities ranging from the ultraviolet (UVA) to red

While typically thought of as mute, turtles make various sounds when communicating. Tortoises may be vocal when courting and mating

Adult turtles typically eat aquatic plants; invertebrates such as insects, snails, and worms; and have been reported to occasionally eat dead marine animals. Green sea turtle do not eat meat at all and, instead, have a diet largely made up of algae

Sadly, many species of turtle are endangered! 129 of approximately 300 species of turtle and tortoise on Earth today are either vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered

So many qualities and hardly few we know, (I have not yet disclosed the other story J, keep guessing) I hope you liked the story and hope that you will find out undisclosed part as well, best of luck, do let me know your feedback on btwildart@gmail.om

Learning of the day

(Hope you remember the hint)

All tortoises are in fact turtles but not all turtles are tortoises.

Points of difference are – 

Turtle	Tortoise
Turtles spend most of their lives in water. They are adapted for aquatic life	Tortoises are land animals. Their feet are round and stumpy, adapted for walking on land
Turtles are omnivorous	Tortoises are generally vegetarians
Mostly flat, streamlined shells. Generally light-weight shell	Mostly large dome shape shells (with bumps on the top in some species). The shells are heavier.
Broad flipper legs with webbed feet	Short sturdy legs without webbed feet
Shorter life span	Longer life span
Cannot hide inside the shell	Can hide inside the shell

 *All pictures are of Turtle

BT Wild Art

DSLR Section