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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project

@thetortoiseproject.bsky.social
364 followers 256 following 280 posts

Writing a book on the amazing lives and worlds of tortoises and the people dedicated to saving them around the world. Due out in summer 2027, by WW Norton.

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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Theo and recently opened our garden to a group of garden writers. Here’s a lovely post about the visit by Phillip Oliver. phillipoliver.blogspot.com/2026/09/theo...?
phillipoliver.blogspot.com
Theo's Fantastic Fuchsias
A tour of Theo Margelony’s Portland garden, featuring rare fuchsias, Gordlinia, creative plant displays, and inspiring design ideas.
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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Typefaces+Turtles! 5 sea turtles, named for fonts, released in Cape Cod: Papyrus, Gigi, Times New Roman, Punk Kid & Walter Turncoat. www.popsci.com/environment/...
popsci.com
Bon voyage, Papyrus! 5 rescued sea turtles named after fonts released in Cape Cod
The endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtles were found in December 2025.
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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
Wondering how to celebrate #WorldTurtleDay ? Here are a couple of great turtle and tortoise conservation organizations that I support:
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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Mojave Max: Spring will be a little late this year. Me: You sure about that? www.msn.com/en-us/weathe...
msn.com
MSN
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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Biologist Charles Lehnen is making his mark in the Galápagos. His research helps researchers predict the impacts of Galápagos tortoise reintroduction on Floreana. dornsife.usc.edu/news/stories...
dornsife.usc.edu
PhD candidate finds field of dreams studying Galapagos tortoises
USC Dornsife graduating student reflects on his research, which aims to save the giant reptiles, as well as his own harrowing survival story
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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Car-crushed tortoise saved by a bizarre shell-repair device that looks like medieval braces. Tort-o-dontics. #wildlife #tortoise #hope www.popsci.com/environment/...
popsci.com
Vet constructs ingenious contraption to help a tortoise hit by a car
The African spurred tortoise’s recovery deserves a shell-ebration.
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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
Who brakes for invasive species? Seen, ironically, at the California Botanic Garden, dedicated to native plants.
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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
Volunteers save 8,000 tortoises on the steppe of Kazakhstan from farm machinery. Load 'em up, and move 'em out. kz.kursiv.media/en/2026-04-1...
kz.kursiv.media
Volunteers rescue 8,000 tortoises in southern Kazakhstan
During sowing in southern Kazakhstan’s Turkestan region, volunteers rescue tortoises at risk from heavy agricultural machinery.
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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
Jonathan lives! It's April 1, and two of the old gray media — USA Today and BBC — are reporting that Jonathan, the World's Oldest Tortoise, is dead. Um, no. I've heard direct from Jonathan's vet that he is alive and well.
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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
Shell-crushing turtles had an edge to survive the Chicxulub asteroid impact 65 million years ago that wiped out most dinosaurs. www.earth.com/news/shell-c...
earth.com
Shell-cracking turtles defied the odds of extinction
Turtles with shell-cracking jaws were far more likely to survive extinction due to their ability to be sustained on a restricted diet.
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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
AI images like this are the reason people ask me: "How do tortoises raise their families?" #Iclickedsoyoudonthaveto
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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 15/02/2026
Horny male tortoises driving females off the cliff in Mediterranean island. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/14/s...
nytimes.com
Constant Sexual Aggression Drives Female Tortoises to Walk Off Cliffs
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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
Hello @turtlesurvival.bsky.social! Great piece about their survival center on @mongabay.com. news.mongabay.com/2026/01/the-...
news.mongabay.com
The Turtle Bank: The last of these Asian turtle species find refuge in the Carolina pines
Deep in the coastal woods of South Carolina, behind high fences, guard dogs, and security cameras, is a group of people who know more about turtles than you. Posters and paintings of turtles and torto...
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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 30/12/2025
Plastic in Lake Malawi threatens endemic cichlids. #microplastics #waterquality www.africanews.com/2025/12/26/p...
africanews.com
Plastic pollution threatens Lake Malawi’s unique fish | Africanews
For conservationists, the message is clear: while community-led clean-ups are making a visible difference, protecting one of the world’s most remarkable freshwater ecosystems will ultimately require s...
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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
It's #GivingTuesday, right? There are several wonderful orgs out there helping turtles and tortoises, but if you want to give to just one today, make it Turtle Survival Alliance — dedicated to ending turtle extinctions. give.turtlesurvival.org/campaign/746...
give.turtlesurvival.org
Donate to 2025 Giving Tuesday Email
Support Turtle Survival Alliance's cause by donating to today!
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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 23/11/2025
Goodbye, Gramma! Beloved Galápagos tortoise dies at San Diego Zoo after a century. I remember visiting these tortoises when I was a kid—it's where my fascination began. timesofsandiego.com/life/2025/11...
timesofsandiego.com
'Queen of the Zoo' Gramma the tortoise dies after century at San Diego Zoo
Gramma arrived in San Diego between 1928–1931 as part of the first group of Galápagos tortoises to come to the zoo.
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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 22/11/2025
New story for Turtle Survival Alliance’s annual report about Kenya’s efforts to save the world’s flattest tortoise. A 2019 discovery sparked wider searches and uncovered more than a thousand new tortoises—leading to a 10-year National Conservation Plan. Flip to p30. issuu.com/turtlesurviv...
issuu.com
Turtle Survival 2024/2025
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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 16/11/2025
Scene at Bellevue Botanic Garden: Owls! Or rather, books about owls, by Jennifer Ackerman and Paul Bannick. Books + botanic gardens = a great pairing.
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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
This was the best announcement of the whole weekend. See you there! @sciencewriting1.bsky.social
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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 25/10/2025
Today, I enjoyed learning how tortoises got to Noah's ark—this had always stumped me. I now see that my question was based on mistaken assumptions and/or ignorance about the biblical account. answersingenesis.org/noahs-ark/ho...
answersingenesis.org
How Did Animals Get TO the Ark?
Did they swim across continents to get to the ark? Was Noah an expert animal wrangler?
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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 22/10/2025
In the News: The Turtle Conservancy. They're a wonderful org doing great work to save turtles and tortoises from extinction. Take a look behind the scenes with Karen Palmer from @sfgate.com. www.sfgate.com/centralcoast...
sfgate.com
One of California's coolest hidden gems is in a town that's quietly on the rise
It's home to more than 40 species of an endangered reptile.
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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 13/10/2025
Road-tripping through the spiny forest of Madagascar to chase tortoises? Count me in! Check out my blog post about my wildest reporting trek yet. Big thanks to Turtle Survival Alliance for inviting me along. Read the full story here (and see the photos) at: thetortoiseproject.com/2025/10/10/m...
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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 07/10/2025
Listen to Jane Goodall’s words — released after her death. “Choose the difference that you want to make.”
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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 07/10/2025
Slow and steady? Try fast and flashy. In Venezuela, they’re painting tortoises and racing them for prizes in a colorful celebration of St. Francis day. The crowd cheers, lettuce waves, and one 20‑year‑old shell‑champ named Roberto crosses the finish line in style. www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstor...
gmanetwork.com
Painted tortoises race for prizes in colorful Venezuelan celebration
Residents of San Francisco de Asis in Venezuela's Aragua state celebrated the feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi on Friday, October 3, with a tortoise race featuring 80 painted and decorated competi...
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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
Profound words on democracy — seen in a Bangladeshi newspaper. “Our goal is clear: to create a democratic order where power is balanced, where no autocrat can ever return, where no elected leader can destroy democracy …”
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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
Bangladesh Journal: On the 14th floor of the Marriott in Dhaka, I found the metaphor I was looking for.
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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
Bangladesh Journal: Dhaka's Turtle Conservation Center is home to several species of turtles and tortoises — it's a breeding and rearing facility. Caesar Rahman introduced me to a few of the stars. Here: an Asian forest tortoise (Manouria emys).
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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 29/09/2025
The Tortoise Project is on the move again — now in Dhaka, Bangladesh. So far, rickshaws are everywhere and tortoises nowhere. But that will soon change.
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Reposted by Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project
Ben Goldfarb @bengoldfarb.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
Whoa, wildlife crossings got the Nathan Pyle treatment! Honestly, given what we know about the social lives of ungulate herds, the complexity of their spatial memories, and the importance of the lead female in dictating behavior, he’s not too far off. #roadecology
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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
Yes — what @fuchsiarius.bsky.social said! We’re at the end of an amazing experience in South Africa.
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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
Voting in Seychelles today — development on Assumption island could sway the outcome. I saw the beginning stages of construction, in January, and this really is bad news. Trigger alert: photo of crushed giant #tortoise. www.bbc.com/news/article...
bbc.com
Seychelles election: The row over Assumption Island could decide next president
India, Qatari royals, China and ecologists have their own, very different, views on Assumption Island's future.
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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
The charms of Indigo snakes — www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/2...
montgomeryadvertiser.com
What is the largest snake in Alabama? Meet the giant that eats rattlesnakes
Meet Alabama’s longest snake: a gentle giant that hunts rattlesnakes, lives in sandy burrows and is protected by law. Have you seen one?
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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 03/09/2025
What does a Central Asian Tortoise do all day, anyway? This documentary by Saxon Bosworth will tell you. The sad news is that this trailer is all we get for now. When the film comes out on streaming, I'll let you know! #TASBAQA
vlast.kz
A Day in the Life of a Central Asian Tortoise - Аналитический интернет-журнал Власть
Осы мақаланың қазақша нұсқасын оқыңыз. Читайте этот материал на русском.
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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 31/08/2025
Bluesky is becoming the go-to for scientists ditching the noise of X. More civility, more engagement, and way more clicks. #scicomm #BlueskyScience www.wired.com/story/bluesk...
wired.com
Scientists Are Flocking to Bluesky
Academics once loved Twitter—but in the age of X they’ve abandoned it in droves.
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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 26/08/2025
Hatching success! India's Manipur Zoological Garden welcomes 28 baby Asian Giant tortoises (Manouria emys phayrei). This tortoise — inhabitant of the forest — is the region's largest. Congrats! nenow.in/north-east-n...
nenow.in
Manipur Zoological Garden successfully hatches Asian Giant Tortoises for the first time
Manipur Zoological Garden, with India Turtle Conservation Program successfully conducted first artificial incubation of Asian Giant Tortoises
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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 20/08/2025
Kenya Journal: We found a beautiful Pancake tortoise this morning at Lewa Wildlife Conservancy. We got its stats, notched it, and returned it to its crevice.
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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 20/08/2025
#MyBlueDot — The Tortoise Project goes to Kenya.
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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 14/08/2025
Kenya Diary: you don’t have to guess how Pancake tortoises (Malacochersus tornieri) got their name. Adapted to life in a narrow crevice.
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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 14/08/2025
Kenya Diary: First day in the field on a Pancake tortoise survey. We discovered 10 living in a rock crevice.
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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 09/08/2025
Dateline: Nairobi. The Tortoise Trail has led me to Kenya to see its amazing pancake tortoises. But first, a day of rest. Jetlag. My hotel has an amazing garden full of wonders.
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Reposted by Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project
Lisa S Gardiner @lisasgardiner.bsky.social · 10/06/2025
Right on the heels of #WorldOceanDay, it’s US pub day for REEFS OF TIME: WHAT FOSSILS REVEAL ABOUT CORAL SURVIVAL @princetonupress.bsky.social. I hope its story of reef resilience brings some joy in this unsettled time. 🧪💙📚🪸https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691247335/reefs-of-time
press.princeton.edu
Reefs of Time
How fossilized reefs hold clues to the survival of corals in the Anthropocene
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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 29/07/2025
Ever feel like what you need is a week with turtle folk? I do — and I got that at the Turtle Survival Alliance symposium last week in Chattanooga. Overheard: “This is the best week of my year.” True!
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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
Of all the places to hide turtles! Bra-smuggling fail: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...
dailymail.co.uk
Florida woman tries to smuggle turtles through security in her BRA
A Florida woman attempted to smuggle turtles through airport security by hiding them inside her bra - leaving one creature to meet a grim fate.
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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
Excellent new paper by lead authors ‪@apriljazb.bsky.social‬ and Anna Koester at Seychelles Islands Foundation on #reef resilience benchmarks across the Indo-Pacific. Trophic-level biomass as a practical tool for managers. It really resonates after my time on #Aldabra. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Supporting resilience-based coral reef management using broadscale threshold approaches - Scientific Reports
Scientific Reports - Supporting resilience-based coral reef management using broadscale threshold approaches
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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
I visited a gnome garden outside Portland the other day, and found this handsome fella and his studly steed. Go Speed Racer! #Turtles #Gnomes
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Reposted by Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project
Merrymac Farm Sanctuary @merrymacsanctuary.bsky.social · 04/07/2025
To start the holiday weekend off right please enjoy this totally free bootlegged copy of the new F1 movie.
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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 07/07/2025
@nijhuism.bsky.social has been very busy lately. Another great piece by her.
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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 06/07/2025
My garden takeover has begun, with this awesome hose-tortoise. Definitely testing the limits here in the garden, where I usually stick to my role as enabler and plant sponsor without super-strong opinions about plant choices or decor. The #tortoise shall rise! @fuchsiarius.bsky.social
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Reposted by Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project
Ben Goldfarb @bengoldfarb.bsky.social · 12/06/2025
Finish this sentence: A book about fish is incomplete if it doesn’t include _________.
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Kevin Gepford | The Tortoise Project @thetortoiseproject.bsky.social · 12/06/2025
Is A River Alive? Tonight at @powells.bsky.social, @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social talked with @ferrisjabr.bsky.social about his new book. Wonderful evening.
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