This Green-Haired Turtle You’ve Never Heard Of From Australia Might Become Extinct Forever Soon

Pop Science 2 Minutes

If you were to think of a wild animal that you would want to go partying with, my first choice would be Bojack Horseman. Since he’s a fictional character, I guess my next choice would be the Mary River turtle which I’m guessing you’ve literally never heard of. I’m pretty disappointed I’ve never heard of them, because they are pretty dang awesome looking.

via GIPHY

Sadly, these Mary River turtles have been on the endangered species list aka the IUCN Red List since the 90’s.

Now you might be asking, what makes these animals so dang cool? Well yes their green algae like hair helps but they have another hidden talent.

These turtles can stay under water for three days in a row thanks to an..interesting feature of the turtle. They have glands that are the Mary River turtle’s butt and genitals. Sadly, they have gotten the not so pretty nickname of “butt breather” and kids on the playground are really mean to them I guess.

People online are really loving them now they know about them.

You can find these turtles in the, you guessed it (if you know about Australian geography), Mary River in Queensland, Australia. The species decline is due to building of a dam nearby as well as people poaching the turtle’s eggs for pets. Despicable!

Another reason why the turtle’s population is in decline is because the creatures wait so long to reproduce. They don’t reach sexual maturity till they are 25 years old, and many males wait till they are 30 to actual do the deed.

(This isn’t them but seemed relevant)

With the combo of damn dams being built and the mature decision to wait till marriage is why they have been placed into the Zoological Society of London’s new list of the world’s most vulnerable reptiles. They are clocking in at the 29th spot. Does that mean we have 28 other animals we need to save too?

Safe to say Twitter users freaked out when they found such an awesome looking animal on the list…

I’m just wondering how long it takes for a punk band to be named after the Mary River Turtle. I’d go rage to them for sure.

Dr. James Liu, who is the director of communications for the Turtle Conservancy told The Dodo:

“The most important thing that we like to convey to the public is that people need to realize that turtles and tortoises are one of the most threatened groups of animals, especially vertebrates, on the planet — but no one’s talking about them.

While whales and ‘great apes’ get a lot of press, turtles and tortoises have been here 250 million years, and now over 50 percent of all species are threatened with extinction.”

Liu concluded:

It’s a shame to lose these animals, and no one’s aware that it’s happening but it’s not too late to save these animals, and a lot can be done!

You can donate to the Australian Geographic Society here if you want punk, I mean the Mary River Turtle to never die!

Published by Josh Benson

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