May 23 marks World Turtle Day

CAIRO – 23 May 2021: Every year on May 23, turtle lovers celebrate World Turtle Day. Turtles are the only animals that limit the reproduction of jellyfish, and are considered to be the oldest creatures on earth.

World Turtle Day is an international day established by the American "ATR" organization in 2000 to encourage global humanitarian action to conserve turtles, drawing attention to the extinction of some turtle species.

Turtles managed to survive on earth for millions of years, but humans began to disturb their natural habitat on Earth. The first traces of a land turtle were found about 200 million years ago, while the marine turtle is believed to have been living on Earth for 150 million years.

It is worth mentioning that turtles are characterized by skin reinforced with horny scales. It can remain alive despite various climatic conditions and is not affected much by natural disasters. Humans remain its only enemy.

Tortoises were served as the main meal for sailors.  Even today, some species of sea turtle are considered a distinct and expensive meal.

Although turtles are widely believed to be very slow, turtles can swim in water at great speeds of up to 35 kilometers per hour. Turtle babies especially can swim very quickly. 

As for the wild turtle, it can crawl at a speed that can be described as slow, ranging between 0.21 and 0.48 kilometers per hour.