Curious about Turtles

Do you Know your Turtles from your tortoises?

Turtles can be sorted into three categories...

Hey, for those that don’t know about you, please introduce yourself?

“Hello, I am a tortoise, called Hermann”

Can you describe what you look like?

“I have a domed shell, it is strong and heavy and my legs are short and sturdy.”

What do you like to eat?

“I love to eat fruit and vegetables (and other plants too).”

Can you swim like sea turtles?

“My feet are made for walking! My legs are short, sturdy and strong enough to lift my body.”

Where can we find you in the wild?

You can find me in a variety of habitats on land: from deserts, dry grasslands, scrub and wet forests as well as different altitudes.”

Illustration of Hermann’s Tortoise – found through out southern Europe.

Hey, for those that don’t know about you, please introduce yourself? “Hello, I am a freshwater turtle, also known as a terrapin.” What do you like to do? “I love to hunt or scavenge for my dinner.” What do you like eat? “I love to eat freshwater carrion, amphibians, fish and aquatic plants .” Where do you live? “I like to live in rivers, ponds or lakes.” What makes you different from a Tortoise? “Unlike tortoises, I have webbed feet ideal for swimming. My legs aren’t as strong either. They are only strong enough to lift my body onto a nesting sandbank or to sunbathe.”
Illustration of European Pond Turtle – part of the UK re-introduction project.

Hey, for those that don’t know about you, please introduce yourself? “Hello, I am a sea turtle known as the green sea turtle” What do you like to eat? “Unlike other species of sea turtle, I am a herbivore.” How can you swim so far? “My shell is smoother and flatter, it’s streamlined and built for swimming long distances. I also have strong flippers to help move through the ocean’s currents.” Where do you live? “You can find me in most of the world’s oceans. We like to be close to the coastline.” What makes you different from a Tortoise? “I cannot tuck my limbs into my body, I have flippers instead of legs. I cannot lift my body weight, but I can crawl.”
Illustration of Green Sea Turtle – found across subtropical and temperate seas.

Looking closer at Tortoises

Little O has just come in whilst I am writing this and started to ask lots of questions about turtles. So I started showing him videos of them and talking about the anatomical differences. One video I came across by accident was by Bryce Broom who is a passionate young advocate for wildlife. I really enjoyed watching this video about a South African native species – The Eastern Hinged Tortoise.

Looking closer at the Green Sea Turtle

Another video about Green sea turtles I just happened across this morning, which manages to pack an awful lot of info in a short amount of time. Little O enjoyed it so much he watched it several times. .

When I originally started to research information about turtles for Save the Turtle Day I wanted to know if the UK had any native species.

Websites

I’ve included a list of some of the best websites I have found with information about sea turtles. Please browse through when you have time:

Official World Turtle Day website

Tortoise trust

UK Marine Conservation Society

See Turtles Conservation

See Turtles Education Programme

Sea Turtle Conservancy (Bonus Printables)

My Curious Library

Here are some of the resources available FREE when you sign up to My Curious Library.

Green Sea Turtle Colouring Page
Leatherback Sea Turtle Colouring Page
Leatherback Sea Turtle Maze & Dangers
Sea Turtle Wordsearch
Design and Draw your own Sea Turtle

Favourite Book

Somebody Swallowed Stanley

By Sarah Roberts

A great simple introduction to the impact of plastic pollution and what we can do about it. Beautifully illustrated and written in a way that encourages children’s engagement which is such an important part of learning to read.

Educational Posters

Curious about Sea Turtles Poster

By Curious Kin

An A4 educational poster highlighting the 7 species of sea turtle including their iucn status, latin name, fun facts and a bonus fun fact for each sea turtle highlighting just how unique they are. Illustrated by Min Dawson.

Short Film

Turtle Journey: The Crisis in our Oceans

Greenpeace and Aardman collaboration

Greenpeace and Aardman created a short film in 2022 highlighting the importance of sea turtles and why we need to protect their homes. I’ve embedded the video to watch above. Please always check content to make sure it’s suitable for your children.

Alongside the video, Greenpeace have created resources aimed at 7-11 year olds to compliment the above short film.

Nurture their curiosity

This is the place to come to get extra activities to nurture and enrich what you are doing with your children at home.

We have some FREE and EXCLUSIVE activities you can get through My Curious Library. To find out more click the button below.

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