turtles

The sight of a sea turtle gracefully gliding through the ocean or a tortoise contentedly munching on greens warms an animal lover's heart. But these visions may soon be distant memories. Today's World Turtle Day seeks to create awareness of the animal's vanishing habitats around the world and to draw attention to the inhumane treatment of turtles as pets and food sources.

Whether you're considering a turtle as a pet or simply encountering these shelled critters in day-to-day life, American Tortoise Rescue, the sponsor of World Turtle Day, hopes that we can all help in preserving and promoting our reptilian friends by observing a few easy guidelines.

• Don't buy a turtle or tortoise from a pet store, as it increases demand for wild animals. Instead, contact a local animal shelter or turtle rescue to adopt a turtle in need.
• Don't remove a turtle or tortoise from the wild unless it's sick or injured.
• If you see a turtle or tortoise crossing a busy street, then pick it up to help it across, but point it in the same direction it was originally heading. Turtles are headstrong creatures: even if you point it in the opposite direction, it will eventually return to its previous course — and straight back into danger!

For a few more tips to celebrate World Turtle Day, just keep reading.

I grew up on 13 acres of woodland with a brook that ran through our property. Although the location offered us privacy from neighbors, we did encounter plenty of other creatures on the land, including deer, raccoons, possums, owls, and my favorite: turtles! I often saw turtles meandering across our mile-long driveway and always stopped to say hello to the gentle reptiles.

I never thought about bringing them inside my home, though — that is, until I saw this Virginia Johnson Rug ($325). The olive swimming critters have so much personality, and I think they'd look absolutely adorable in a children's room. I won't be furnishing a nursery any time soon, so I'll have to bookmark this design. The good thing is that there are plenty of other turtles to welcome into my habitat. Here are a few of my favorites:

Dogs come when called, cats come when called (when they feel like it), but tortoises, too? Apparently so, so watch the video and see it to believe it.

Founded in 1979, TAMAR has released around 10 million turtles into the sea since then. The National Marine Turtle Conservation Program in Brazil monitors over 600 miles of beaches with 20 stations covering the country. Rescuers seek nests by following turtle tracks in the sand. If the locations are deemed dangerous, they're moved to safer sites or open-air beach hatcheries to protect eggs from predators, tides, or other dangers to survive.

Because of close monitoring, more hatchlings survive and are watched to make sure they are set free to sea. As the last post in the Thankful Week, check out tiny turtles growing safely, swimming around and getting fed special medicine.

See more Hawksbill Turtle pictures when you read more

Umm, someone's in need of a bib! This Galapagos Tortoise just finished a snack in the new 'Giant of the Galapagos' exhibit at the London Zoo and seems like his haste made some waste all over his little turtle chin. Oh well, let's not point fingers at this 70-year-old (!) animal who weighs about 440 pounds — after all Dirk's joined by two female tortoises (Dolly, 16, and Dolores, 14) in hopes of starting up a breeding program at the zoo.

I guess slow and steady only counts for their actual motion, so see more pictures of sloppy eaters, Dirk, Dolores, and Dotty when you read more