Mrs. Bones--The Travel Turtle GeoBug

Mrs. Bones is a tiny plastic toy turtle. She is on a two-fold mission:

1. To travel the world raising 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 just to name a few.

2. For the geocacher who has picked up Mrs. Bones 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, zoo, aquarium or wildlife park or drop me an email.

Please pick up Mrs. Bones and take her home but do not keep her --she is on a mission. Think about what you want to do for wildlife then DO IT, take a photo and then carry her to a new hiding place. When you log her 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...).

Mrs. Bones loves to have her photo taken with other critters--especially turtles--so snap some photos and post them with your logs. She wants to visit some special wild places in her travels so since she is a turtle and quite slow you will have to give her a lift.

Mrs. Bones is named after a real Box Turtle named Mrs. Bones who lives in the fields and forests of Cedar Mountain, North Carolina in the USA. Mrs. Bones is being radio-tracked by CrotalusRex (aka: Steve) who is learning all about the movements of Mrs. Bones and several other wild box turtles. The information that CrotalusRex is learning from following in the tracks of Mrs. Bones and her friends will be used to educate folks like you about wildlife and also to help all box turtles have a better chance at survival in the world of mankind. If you would like to learn more about Mrs. Bones and the other box turtles and follow in the tracks of Mrs. Bones and her friends just take a look at TURTLE TRACKS

Learning all about box turtles at Earthshine Lodge

The Turtle Tracks conservation and research program is based at Earthshine Mountain Lodge in Lake Toxaway, NC.

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!

Start here by helping save the Steve Irwin Wildlife Refuge--Steve's Place from strip mining! Please sign this online petition to help the Irwins stop the mining of the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve. After signing the petition please pass it on to all your friends and contacts. This special place, named after the Wildlife Warrior Steve Irwin The Crocodile Hunter, must not be destroyed by strip mining.

*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: