CrotalusRex and Mimichan's Turtle Tracks Fundraiser Geocoin #2

This is a very special geocoin that is on a very special mission so PLEASE do not keep it. If you would like to have one of your own just CLICK HERE.

1. This coin's mission is to travel the world raising wildlife conservation awareness and teaching people just like you about the plight that the Eastern Box Turtle and other wildlife are facing--habitat loss, over hunting and extinction.

2. For the geocacher who holds this coin we request that you DO something--anything--to directly help wildlife in your area. For example: cache-in-trash-out; build and install a bird house/bat house/duck nest box; create habitats in your yard/pond/woods/city rooftop; help a snake or turtle across the road (see more on this below); become a wildlife rehabilitator in your area. If you have more questions on how you can help just contact your local nature center, wildlife park or drop me an email.

Please pick up this coin and take it home but please do not keep it since it is on a mission. Then begin to think about what you want to do for wildlife. Once you decide what you would like to do, DO IT, take a photo of it with the coin if you can and then carry the coin to a new hiding place. When you log its new location please post the photos of your efforts on behalf of wildlife (photos of all the trash you picked up on the way in/out of the cache; your new wildlife habitats, or the critter you helped across the road, etc...). Try to get some photos of this coin with other critters--especially turtles and snakes--and post them with your logs. This coin wants to visit some special places in its travels so help it get there if you are able: mountain tops, waterfalls, beaches, caves, swamps, The Florida Everglades, Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville in Key West, the Galapagos Islands, Costa Rican beaches and rainforests, Australia Zoo--any animals you may find there, The Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve, Uluru (aka Ayres Rock), Africa and more...

This coin is joined by several other wildlife conservation coins and bugs including the

Bones The Box Turtle Travel Bug

Mojo The Box Turtle Geocoin /Travel Bug

The Crikey! Fundraiser Geocoinand soon there will be more!

This coin is a fundraiser (while supplies last) for the TURTLE TRACKS Eastern Box Turtle conservation project that is being conducted by CrotalusRex at Earthshine Mountain Lodge in Lake Toxaway, NC. .

Learning all about box turtles at Earthshine Lodge

WILD NOTE: If you find a turtle or snake* crossing a road please stop and take it to the side of the road it is attempting to get to--the side its head is pointing at. If you are unsure of the side of the road that the animal came from place it on the side that looks like it has the best wildlife habitat. Please do not take him home or move him to a new place. Turtles and many snakes have very strong homing instincts so moving them far away from where you found them confuses them causing them to wander in search of home. A wandering animal will be more easily stressed, catch diseases, encounter predators and face danger when crossing roads, railroads and more. If you are sure that the turtle you have found has lost its home due to habitat destruction or it is in an area that seems wrong such as a parking lot or the middle of a city then you will need to take it to a zoo, wildlife park or nature center--do not release it in a park or forest--your kind intention may actually be a slow death for the homeless animal. Please help wildlife—your kind moment of help may make the difference in life or death for one animal. One person can make a difference—YOU can make a difference!

*A note on helping snakes across the road. Please do not attempt to pick up a snake because it may be venomous (poisonous). Usually, snakes that are basking on roads can be easily urged to continue on across if you pick up a long stick and gently prod the snake off of the road. If you encounter a snapping turtle crossing a road you will need to use either a strong stick to urge it off of the road or a use a thick pair of leather gloves and pick it up by the back edge of its shell and carry it off of the road. DO NOT lift it by the tail as this can injure the turtle’s spine or pick it up in any other way or you will be risking a bite.

Check out my video on how you can help box turtles across the road: