It's World Turtle Day, an annual observance to help people "shellebrate" and protect turtles and tortoises and their disappearing habitats around the world.
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the Virginia Living Museum have shared posts on their Facebook page with some cool facts about these shelled reptiles.
Here are a few!
- Box turtles can safely eat poisonous mushrooms, making their own flesh poisonous if consumed by predators.
- Diamondback Terrapins are believed to be the only turtle in the world that lives exclusively in brackish water (aka the Chesapeake Bay).
- Common snapping turtles have a maximum lifespan of more than 100 years.
- There are 25 species of turtle that call Virginia home, including 1 species of land turtle, 5 species of sea turtle, and 19 freshwater aquatic species.
- Five of the world’s seven sea turtle species occur in the Chesapeake Bay, including the critically endangered Kemp’s ridley.
For more turtle facts visit the Virginia Living Museum's Facebook page and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Facebook page.