November 2022 • Nebraskaland 11
Send your comments and
photos to:
Jeff Kurrus, Editor
Nebraskaland Mag azine
P.O. Box 30370
Lincoln, NE 68503
or email Jeff.Kurrus@Nebraska.gov
Please include your postal address
and telephone number. Letters
may be condensed and edited.
Photographs are also welcome.
Box turtles are considered one of the most heavily trafficked animals in the United States.
Simply put, many of these animals are poached from the wild and exported across the country
or shipped out internationally for food, medicine or for wealthy collectors for their novelty and
beauty.
In our October issue of the magazine, you may have noticed there was an eastern box turtle on
the cover. Although not native to Nebraska, turtles, and many other reptiles, are often found
in areas that are atypical for them. Many times people will pick up these animals while on
vacation in different states, keep them as pets, and then decide at a later time to release them
back into the wild.
The eastern box turtle is native to the eastern part of the country, but was found in Sarpy
County when its photo was taken. This leads us to believe it probably was a pet brought from
another state and later released into the wild.
Nebraska does have one native terrestrial turtle, and that is the ornate box turtle shown here.
JUSTIN
HAAG,
NEBRASKALAND
