We have some news from the Cincinnati Zoo about the Middle School turtles! CLICK HERE for a short video. CLICK HERE for a news article from the zoo!
We received some interesting comments and questions when we made a Facebook post about the Middle School turtles, so we wanted to share more information.
1) Box turtles should not be relocated because they try to find their way back home.
We have read that, too, and we questioned one of the representatives from the Ohio Department of Wildlife about that. He told us that new studies are showing that it is not true. One thing we didn’t include in our post is that the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden plans to equip any turtle that is released with a tracker. The Zoo and the Department of Wildlife will be able to monitor their movements and make sure they are staying in the area where they are released. This is one of the primary reasons we have been working with the Ohio Department of Wildlife and the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. They are the experts.
2) Why do the turtles have to be moved?
A new Middle/High School will be opening in August of 2026. Although we don’t have an exact date, the current Middle School will be demolished, including the location where they currently live. We want the turtles to be relocated before that happens. Beginning the relocation process now means that we can continue to look for any turtles that were not found during the original turtle rescue day. Representatives from the zoo plan to revisit us soon to search for more, and they are picking up any turtles that we find on our own.
3) Will you be replacing the turtles?
We will not be replacing turtles in any of our schools. We want turtles to be turtles, and we are happy to have worked with organizations that are taking great care of ours and letting them live their best turtle life!