Tiffany the Turtle

I am one of a set of four animal trackables. We are in competition with each other to see who can travel the greatest distance. Please help me win. Track us all.

Tiffany the Turtle - TB54Y39
Rainbow the Unicorn - TB55P84
Gabby the Giraffe - TB5J3C7
Margaret the Meerkat - TB5J3CF

For one year the race is on, who can travel the greatest distance. After a year I can continue my travels at a leisurely pace.

Start Date - 20 April 2013
End Date - 20 April 2014

Document my travels with pictures so I can show off to my other competitors where I have been.

Can you make sure I am kept warm and dry in my plastic zip bag so I can survive my travels undamaged by the elements. Wet conditions wreak havoc with my fur.

Can I request that you try to limit holding this Travel Bug for no more than approx 16 days. I prefer to see my Travel Bugs on the move. Thank-you

Turtles are reptiles of the order Chelonii^[2] or Testudines characterised by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs and acting as a shield.^[3] "Turtle" may either refer to the order as a whole, or to particular turtles which make up a form taxon that is not monophyletic.

The order Chelonii or Testudines includes both extant (living) and extinct species. The earliest known turtles date from 220 million years ago,^[4] making turtles one of the oldest reptile groups and a more ancient group than lizards, snakes or crocodiles. Of the many species alive today, some are highly endangered.^[5]

Like all other extant reptiles, turtles are ectotherms — their internal temperature varies according to the ambient environment, commonly called cold-blooded. However, because of their high metabolic rate, leatherback sea turtles have a body temperature that is noticeably higher than that of the surrounding water.

Like other amniotes (reptiles, dinosaurs, birds, and mammals), they breathe air and do not lay eggs underwater, although many species live in or around water. The largest turtles are aquatic.
 

The largest living chelonian is the leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), which reaches a shell length of 200 cm (6.6 ft) and can reach a weight of over 900 kg (2,000 lb). Freshwater turtles are generally smaller, but with the largest species, the Asian softshell turtle Pelochelys cantorii, a few individuals have been reported up to 200 cm (6.6 ft). This dwarfs even the better-known alligator snapping turtle, the largest chelonian in North America, which attains a shell length of up to 80 cm (2.6 ft) and weighs as much as 113.4 kg (250 lb).^[6] Giant tortoises of the genera Geochelone, Meiolania, and others were relatively widely distributed around the world into prehistoric times, and are known to have existed in North and South America, Australia, and Africa. They became extinct at the same time as the appearance of man, and it is assumed humans hunted them for food. The only surviving giant tortoises are on the Seychelles and Galápagos Islands, and can grow to over 130 cm (51 in) in length, and weigh about 300 kg (660 lb).^[7]

The largest ever chelonian was Archelon ischyros, a Late Cretaceous sea turtle known to have been up to 4.6 m (15 ft) long.^[8]

The smallest turtle is the speckled padloper tortoise of South Africa. It measures no more than 8 cm (3.1 in) in length and weighs about 140 g (4.9 oz). Two other species of small turtles are the American mud turtles and musk turtles that live in an area that ranges from Canada to South America. The shell length of many species in this group is less than 13 cm (5.1 in) in length.

info via: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turtle