Box Turtle Goes Missing From Inwood Park

n March, Bronx Zoo officials scrambled to locate a cobra who had escaped from its cage. In August, Central Park Zoo officials breathed a sigh of relief when a peacock who had wandered out of the zoo flew back home. Now, urban park rangers are on the lookout for a missing Eastern Box Turtle named Lionel who disappeared from Inwood Hill Nature Center last Thursday.

he New York City Department of Parks and Recreation said it was unclear how Lionel had escaped, but that it was unfortunate that he had gone missing and anyone who may happen upon the turtle should report it to the nature center by calling (212) 304-2365.

Fans on Twitter have also set up a handle for Lionel: NYBoxTurtle.

The Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) is a vulnerable species, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.



Populations are thought to be in gradual decline for a number of reasons such as habitat destruction, pollution and pesticide effects; being killed by moving cars; predators like raccoons, foxes, possums and crows; being caught and kept as personal pets or for turtle racing; and disease.

It has been reported that turtles in the wild can live to be 100 years old.

How far can the poor fella go?
They only travel 1 mile every 5 hours on foot.

looks like he'd stick out in a crowd too

^
He sure is purdy, isn't he?

billhill999 said:

How far can the poor fella go?
They only travel 1 mile every 5 hours on foot.

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They can burst like a track star out of the gate though

A couple times a year I have to pull off the road here in Florida and go pick up some big ass tortoise that's trying to waddle across a busy street.

I put him down on the water side and he's 20 to 30 feet forward in about 5 seconds

steak tartar said:

looks like he'd stick out in a crowd too

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they all look alike to dogs

My sister discovered an extremely rare species of turtle @ a pond in their neighborhood. It only had 3 legs so she picked it up and carried it home (was only 8 at the time - didn't know better) - my mother was able to identify it and took it to the local zoo to see if they wanted to keep it for possible breeding programs. The zoo declined interest...my mother took the turtle back home and it became a pet for her classroom. That was 11 years ago. The turtle has since went from about 2 inches in diameter to over 10 inches in diameter. The funny thing is the little guy could live longer than any of us...or so we have been told. Figured you would like that story Bill.