Turtle Power At Notebaert

By Margaret Lyons in Miscellaneous on Apr 21, 2008 10:27PM

Is the Blanding's turtle slowly disappearing from the Midwest? Um...it's a turtle! It does everything slowly!

But seriously, the Blanding's turtle, native to the Great Lakes region, is considered a "threatened" species, according to the Notebaert Nature Museum's press release about its new exhibit. The museum is housing two adult and three hatchling turtles in a mirrored enclosure that allows visitors to observe the creatures but doesn't let the turtles see us, lest they bond with humans before their release back into the wild.

The Blanding's turtle population has decreased because of a loss of its marshy habitat. [ACB 7, photo by mcwetboy]