Ornate Box Turtle Found

This Ornate Box Turtle was found crossing the road four miles west of Millville.  The children promptly picked it up and brought it into Osborne for identification and help.  After getting their picture taking and learning some facts about Ornate Box Turtle's the children returned the turtle to the area near where they found it.

Ornate Box Turtles are listed as a THREATENED species in Iowa and are very uncommon in Northeast Iowa.  They are Iowa's only fully terrestrial (land dwelling) turtle and are a good indicator species  These turtles prefer large open sandy habitats where they can bury themselves in the sand and also require sandy areas for reproduction/egg laying.  Due to few natural preditors Ornate Box turtles can live up to 50 years old-however Iowa's population is threatened because of the lack of sandy habitat available and car collisons.  

Thank you to the children who had the knowledge and caring to bring this special reptile into Osborne. I am sure they will not forget it-I know I won't.