Apr
22nd
Tue
22nd
The stories contain enough evidence to identify the four Turtles as specimens of the Red-eared Terrapin Trachemys scripta elegans. That encouraged a big craze for keeping them as pets.
After the craze passed, it was speculated that people often disposed of unwanted turtles by releasing them into the wild, including in areas where they do not occur naturally, risking upsetting the ecology of that area.