The nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity says that there are fewer than 2,000 southern bog turtles left.
Photo Above: The tiny turtle lives only in mountain bogs in Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia.
North America’s smallest turtle, and one of its most imperiled, recently got a big boost from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which said it will start a review to determine whether to protect it under the Endangered Species Act. The southern bog turtle lives in increasingly dwindling mountain bogs in Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia. The nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity had petitioned the federal agency to start the review for the turtle, which it says has declined by 50% in the last two decades, with fewer than 2,000 left. No bigger than a human thumb, the turtle is losing ground due to largely to development that drains its marshy habitat. “We need to protect the wetlands where these turtles live to keep them from going extinct. I hope the Service moves quickly to give southern bog turtles the safeguards they need,” says the center’s Will Harlan. biologicaldiversity.org
The story above first appeared in our January / February 2023 issue.
