Turtle hatchling close-up, Texas
A turtle hatchling in Texas. United States Environmental Protection Agency
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baby turtle
Hi, friend! Pexels

In 2000—the year that the summer Olympics were held in Sydney, that Florida electoral boards poured over hanging chads, and Microsoft founder Bill Gates stepped down to focus on his foundation—the American Tortoise Rescue declared May 23rd World Turtle Day. The goal, according to their official website, is to “help people celebrate and protect turtles and tortoises and their disappearing habitats around the world.”

The obvious question is why an organization devoted to tortoises would care about turtles. Well, the answer is that turtles and tortoises are pretty similar. They’re both reptiles of the order Testudines, and they both rely on a shell for protection. The biggest difference between the two is that tortoises live on land, while turtles live (to some degree or another) in water, so World Turtle Day is pretty much World Turtle And Tortoise Day.

Many species of turtle are at risk of extinction, but perhaps none as acutely as sea turtles—nearly all species are classified as endangered. Sea turtles, as their name suggests, spend almost all of their time in the water. And unlike other turtles, they can’t retract their head or legs into their shell. They also suffer an ecological assault on all fronts. Because their eggs, meat, skin, and shells are all considered valuable, they’re frequently victims of poaching and overfishing, and are often caught up in nets meant for other swimmers. Sea turtles are also losing habitat, because they frequently nest on beaches that are desirable for development—and climate change is taking care of any beaches we fail to build condos on.

Tortoises (and turtles that spend more time on land) also suffer from habitat loss. But because they spend so much time on shore, they also risk being run over by automobiles as roads spring up in their backyards—and it’s not always by accident. According to research, as many as six percent of drivers deliberately try to run over turtles and tortoises, proving that it’s not the reptiles who are cold blooded.

But turtles and tortoises are awesome and worthy of our protection, so we’ve assembled a gallery of some of the most charismatic members of the Testudines order for your viewing pleasure.

Baby Tortoise
K. Kristina Drake, USGS

Above, we see a desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) hatching from its egg at the Western Ecological Research Center. USGS studies the life history and ecology of the desert tortoise, which is a federally listed threatened species only found in the Mojave Desert.   Young tortoises are especially vulnerable to predators like dogs and ravens, whose numbers can increase around areas of human activity. Adult tortoises can be killed by car traffic, trash (they eat it), and wildfires, and are affected by loss of habitat from urban and industrial development, cutting short their potential lifespan of 100 years.

Kemps Ridley Sea Turtle, Texas
A Kemp’s ridley sea turtle in Texas. US EPA
Nicaragua Sea Turtle
An endangered sea turtle makes its way across the beach in Nicaragua’s La Flor Wildlife Refuge. Jerry Bauer, US Forest Service
Turtle hatchling close-up, Texas
A turtle hatchling in Texas. United States Environmental Protection Agency
Green sea turtle. Saipan
A green sea turtle. David Burdick, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Sea turtle showing facial markings and underbody
A sea turtle shows off its facial markings. Adam Li, NOAA/NMFS/SWFSC.
Adult hawksbill turtle
An adult hawksbill turtle in Secret Harbor, St. Thomas, USVI. Becky A. Dayhuf, NOAA
Turtle eating beach grass.
A turtle eating beach grass and looking darn adorable doing so. Reiba
Sea turtle
A sea turtle. Matthias Hiltner
Loggerhead Turtle
A loggerhead turtle. Pexels
Mojave River WesternPondTurtle
An extremely rare Mojave River western pond turtle. United States Geological Services
Agassiz's desert tortoise
The Agassiz’s desert tortoise, a native of the Mojave Desert. Ken Nussear
Loggerhead sea turtles
A band of baby loggerhead sea turtles on the beach in Core Banks, North Carolina. Dawn Childs, USGS
Turtle on hillside
A turtle chills on a hill. USGS
Desert Tortoise at Zion National Park
This desert tortoise hatchling is 2 inches in length—smaller than a tube of chapstick. Cassie Waters, National Park Service
Eastern Box Turtle
An eastern box turtle in Shenanandoah National Park. National Park Service
Sea turtle
A sea turtle in Everglades National Park. National Park Service
tortoise
A juvenile desert tortoise in Red Cliffs National Conservation Area. John Kellam, Bureau of Land Management
Gopher Tortoise
A gopher tortoise. United States Department of Agriculture
Loggerhead Sea turtles
Finally, here are some more baby loggerhead sea turtles—because we know you need them. Bureau of Land Management