“I get to be outside and experience new environments. I get to see turtles every day and see turtles that very few people have seen...it’s absolutely incredible.”
Michelangelo. Leonardo. Raphael. Donatello. What do these names have in common? They’re the four most famous turtles of all time. There’s a lot more to being a turtle than being a famous never-aging-teenager ninja though. Most turtles prefer a more simple life. Some turtles like to swim in the sea. Some turtles are really small and like to live in bogs, like little turtle gnomes. Today’s guest will help us learn about the wonderful and diverse turtle landscape, and also give us a peek at what the life of a field biologist is like.
“In herpetology everything is so different and there are these animals that are adapted to live in all these different environments.”
“Turtles all have the same sort of homing mechanism, which I love. I’m from Oregon originally and I’ve moved all around and I love how they have home in mind.”
Interview Contents
2:20 - How and why Doug became a turtle biologist.
3:00 - Getting labeled in the biology world.
3:50 - Herpetology.
6:30 - Fun turtle facts.
9:45 - Turtle hibernation.
11:40 - Why do we care what the turtles are doing?
13:30 - What are we trying to do when were tracking these turtles?
15:00 - Are we playing God for these turtles?
16:30 - Our negative impact on these turtles.
18:50 - The future of a young biologist.
21:40 - Trying to find bog turtles.
24:50 - Turtle predators.
28:20 - Turtle sex life and politics.
30:30 - Doug’s favorite Turtle.
31:25 - How far the turtles move per day.
32:40 - A turtle Doug would love to study one day.
33:45 - Doug’s lifestyle.
36:00 - Doug’s job security.
37:35 - Pay.
39:45 - Day to day diversity.
40:30 - Having a yin and yang to the on and off season.
42:00 - Advice.
Links
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