Turtle

For an animal revered as an emblem, Maryland's diamondback terrapin isn't getting much respect. Once abundant in the Chesapeake Bay's brackish waters, the turtle was devastated by overharvesting a century ago and has suffered a dramatic loss of habitat, particularly nesting beaches, since then. How many diamondbacks are left in a state that touts the species as the official state reptile and University of Maryland mascot? Nobody knows for sure. This much is clear: Demand for the turtles is escalating, particularly among Asian gourmets here and elsewhere around the country, and Maryland has done little to protect the species from being wiped out. Marguerite M. Whilden, a former Maryland Department of Natural Resources employee who now runs the nonprofit Terrapin Institute, purchased and released into the wild 3,000 terrapin from Maryland seafood dealers last year.

Three endangered sea turtles that spent the winter in Baltimore departed Saturday evening, joining a caravan of at least 43 others bound for Florida's warm waters and a return to their natural habitat. The three turtles — Chet, Biff and Two-Bit — were among more than 200 sea turtles to wash ashore on Massachusetts beaches, critically ill with hypothermia, last November and December. When The New England Aquarium's sea turtle hospital reached capacity, rescuers reached out to other facilities up and down the East Coast to find foster homes.

It's one for the medical textbooks -- a 93-pound sea turtle that couldn't see, but whose sight was saved by cataract surgery.The loggerhead turtle still is recovering and could use a pair of spectacles.A team of ophthalmologists -- an animal eye doctor and a human eye doctor -- performed successful surgery on the turtle June 11 at the National Aquarium in Baltimore to give it a fighting chance to return to the wild.Aquarium officials said they believe it was the first time a sea turtle had undergone surgery for cataracts.

- The volunteers of the Maryland Amphibian and Reptile Atlas project leave no log unrolled, no stone unturned in their quest to document the state's dirt dwellers. When the earth is moist after a soaking rain and the temperatures whisper spring, the herp patrol - short for herpetology - spreads out in search of slithering, hopping, plodding critters along the fringes of farm fields, sunning themselves on pond rocks and making new burrows at the edges of vernal pools. These amateur census takers aren't picky.

BACK BAY, Va. -- The crashing waves off the coast here never looked so good . . . at least to this far-sighted sea turtle.Having had his sight restored by Baltimore surgeons, he swam off to freedom yesterday and into the annals of medical history, the only sea turtle to have undergone cataract surgery."

One of Maryland's shyest, most elusive creatures -- the North American bog turtle, or Clemmys muhlenbergii -- may delay the construction of Carroll County's long-sought Hampstead bypass. State officials told the county's elected leaders last week that the small reptile was recently spotted in a wetland located on the north end of the highway's proposed path. Because of that sighting, transportation officials said they may be forced to design a new route for the $35 million highway to avoid the turtle's habitat.

A 2-foot-long sea turtle appears to be healing nicely at the National Aquarium in Baltimore after being struck by a houseboat near Ocean City.Aquarium specialists were preparing to truck the turtle to Assateague State Park today and, after tagging it, to set it free.The 70-pound juvenile loggerhead turtle was struck Saturday. Bleeding and dazed, he was picked up in the Isle of Wight Bay by other boaters who saw the accident. They turned the reptile over to the Ocean City Coast Guard station.

A 2-foot-long sea turtle appears to be healing nicely at the National Aquarium in Baltimore after being struck by a houseboat near Ocean City."If everything checks out all right . . . we will probably release him pretty quickly . . . [perhaps] by the end of the week," said animal-care specialist Cheryl Messinger.The 70-pound juvenile loggerhead turtle was struck Saturday. Bleeding and dazed, he was picked up in the Isle of Wight Bay by other boaters who saw the accident. They turned the reptile over to the Ocean City Coast Guard station.

What is this huge turtle I found in my yard? The shell is 12 inches long, 8 inches high, and light brown with black squares. We took the turtle to the state park and let it go near water so it wouldn't get hit by a car. The African leopard tortoise you found was undoubtedly someone's pet. This animal can grow to 20 inches. Try to retrieve the tortoise and contact your neighbors to find out who lost it. Also, alert park staff, so they can be on the lookout for the tortoise and help save it. If the tortoise is not found and brought indoors, it will not survive the winter.

On your mark, get set . . . go slow.Amphibian racing at its finest will return to the parking lot at Riviera Beach Library on Saturday at the annual turtle derby.The race, which begins at 10 a.m., is open to children of all ages and turtles of all kinds. Owner/trainers can call the branch or stop in to register any time before post time. The competition will include 10 heats and a championship race.Last year, 90 lean green racing machines competed in what has become a tradition for local kids over the past 15 years.

On Tuesday, servers and bartenders at multiple locations of the Greene Turtle throughout Maryland, Delaware and Virginia will pool their tips to purchase toys for local Toys for Tots drives. "Tips for Tots," as the annual event is known, began in 2006 at the Greene Turtle in Salisbury, when bartender Corlie Brice came up with the idea after arriving for her shift and noticing that a neighboring business had been designated as a Toys for Tots drop-off site. She and another bartender ended up collecting $700 for toy purchases that night.

The Greene Turtle Sports Bar & Grille introduced a new limited-time-offer menu featuring seven new "hearty season" food and drink selections on Monday. Through Dec. 9, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to local food banks in each state where the chain operates.  The Greene Turtle is calling the fundraising effort "The Big Helping. " The new menu includes comfort foods like country fried chicken, shepherd's pie, chili, and a special twist on potato skins featuring bacon and bleu cheese, as well as specialty items like cedar plank salmon, a wild turkey wrap and a pumpkin pie milkshake.

Those trying to celebrate what is traditionally considered an annual rite of summer - catching crabs to feast on - are reminded that those tasty critters typically can be found in the same waters as the state's reptile, the diamondback terrapin. That's why officials from the Department of Natural Resources and the National Aquarium are asking recreation crab pot owners to include turtle excluders in their pots. Without the excluders, the equipment can accidentally trap and drown the diamondbacks.

Today is World Turtle Day, created by the animal-lovers at American Tortoise Rescue as a day to celebrate and protect turtles and their habitats. As someone who lives with one turtle (a box turtle named Yertle) and is about to inherit a red-slider this weekend, I feel compelled to weigh in on the idea of turtles as pets. Here's what I think: Turtles should not be pets. Yes, you may think, as I once did, that a little land turtle is a nice, low-maintenance friend for your child.

State health officials are warning Marylanders that baby rabbits, turtles, chicks, ducklings and other animals popular around the Easter holiday can spread salmonella and other harmful bacteria to people. Since September 2001, six people in Maryland have contracted bacterial infections from baby turtles, or those with shells less than four inches wide, according to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Five of the cases required hospitalizations. U.S. Food and Drug Administration rules don't allow the sale of baby turtles, but in three of the cases the turtles were bought from a neighborhood baby turtle vendor.

Note: There is random "Hunger Games" plot spolier in this post about a bracket-style burger competition at the Greene Turtle Sports Bar and Grille. The March Madness-inspired stuffed burger competition at the Greene Turtle is over and we have a winner.  Bacon & Cheddar will be added to the Greene Turtle's permanent menu. Stuffed with smoked bacon and cheddar cheese, and topped with sauteed mushrooms, crispy onion straws, A-1 steak sauce and a creamy horseradish sauce, Bacon & Cheddar bested the The Spicy Jack, The Pep & Cheese and The Ham & Cheese in a bracket-style competition determined by ... us, the fans.

Remember the turtles? The little green water turtles, about the size of a silver dollar. Pet shops, discount stores and tourist traps sold them by the thousands -- and probably by the millions -- for a long time. You supposedly could make these reptiles feel at home by purchasing a "habitat" for them -- usually a round plastic dish adorned with a plastic palm tree. The sight of little green turtles sulking in tepid water in a dish on someone's television set was a fairly common sight in Baby Boom America.

Pictured in a tall glass with ice cream poking above the rim and foam overflowing, the Irish Float looked obscenely tantalizing. It stood out from the mosaic of golden fries and fluffed up burgers in the menu of the new Greene Turtle at McHenry Row. A combination of Guinness and Bacardi rum, it suggested one of the alcoholic shakes at Abbey Burger Bistro. Those aren't cocktails. They are unapologetic guilty pleasures, both potent and decadent. But what I got at the Greene Turtle last week turned out to be little more than an alcoholic Shamrock Shake.

The bracket-style stuffed burger competition at the Greene Turtle is climaxing. The restaurant introduced the four stuffed burgers on Jan. 2 but the bracket competition is just under way. It all ends on March 26. The winning burger will be added to the permanent Greene Turtle menu. You can vote here . The competing burgers are: The Spicy Jack - stuffed with jalapenos, pepper-jack & cheddar cheeses.  Topped with fresh sliced avocado, corn salsa, and a cilantro ranch dressing.