California Turtle & Tortoise Club
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40th
Anniversary
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EVENT PROGRAM
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California Turtle & Tortoise Club Fortieth Anniversary
September 11-12, 2004
Carson Convention Center
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Saturday September 11 |
Presentations & Events
- Adult Activity Hall
9:00AM to 4:00PM |
| 9:00 am -9:30 am |
Registration and Welcome
Kim Clark ,CTTC 40th Anniversary Chair |
| 9:30 am -10:30 am |
Home in the Wild —Three Decades of
Progress by the Desert Tortoise Preserve Committee (DTPC)
Michael J. Connor, Ph.D., Executive Director, DTPC
In 1974, a handful of volunteers formed a Committee to establish the first
tortoise reserve in the United States. Since then, the Desert Tortoise
Preserve Committee has continued in its mission to acquire, protect, and
manage desert habitat to reduce the many threats that menace the wild desert
tortoise population. Most recently, DTPC launched an initiative for a major
expansion of the Desert Tortoise Natural Area. This 26 square mile addition
is home to desert tortoises and other imperiled wildlife. Its acquisition
will facilitate recovery of the desert tortoise by enhancing the Natural
Area's integrity and viability, and establishing a permanent corridor to
desert tortoise habitat to the cost.
Michael is well known to CTTC members for his
service to the Club, and his commitment to desert tortoise conservation. |
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10:30 am -11:00 am |
Coffee Break |
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11:00 am -12:00 pm |
The Worlds Largest and Rarest Fresh
Water Turtle "The Giant Soft Shell"
Peter C. H. Pritchard, Ph.D., Chelonian Research
Institute
Hot off the press, returning from Vietnam just in time for CTTC's 40th
Anniversary Dr. Pritchard will update us on the worlds largest and rarest
fresh water turtle, Rafetus swinhoei. These turtles are believed to
be extinct in the wild and only four are known to remain in captivity today.
Dr. Pritchard is the world's leading expert
on turtles and tortoises, author of numerous book and articles, and founder
of the Chelonian Research Institute in Florida. |
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12:00 pm -1:00 pm |
Movie & Lunch Break |
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1:00 pm -1:50 pm |
Natural History and Captive Husbandry
of the Sulawesi Forest Turtle, Leucocephalon yuwonoi
Cris Hagen, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory
Cris has kept large numbers of captive turtles and tortoise for many years
and will update us on his current studies at the Savannah River Ecology
Laboratory, one of the largest study sites for turtles and tortoises in the
world. |
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2:00 pm -2:50 pm |
The Social Life of Wild Male Desert
Tortoises
Kristin H. Berry, Ph.D, USGS, BRD, Western
Ecological Research Center
A multi-year study of social and reproductive behaviors of adult desert
tortoises is underway at a protected site in the Central Mojave Desert. The
study, which is focused on the summer and early fall reproductive seasons,
is supported by the U.S. Geological Survey and Dept. of the Army. At the
study site, adult male desert tortoises exhibit size-based dominance
hierarchies and engage in numerous displays and fights. An alpha male may
have multiple fights with the same or different males in one day. Females
are often nearby, observing or potentially aware of the aggressive
interactions. Some large or alpha males appear to have preferences for
specific females, and may have little interest in other females. Much
remains to be learned about the social structure and functioning of wild
tortoise populations. From what we know so far, the subject promises to be
not only complex but also very interesting--what we might expect in a
long-lived reptile.
Dr. Berry is the leading authority on Desert
Tortoise biology and author of numerous seminal papers and monographs. |
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3:00 pm -4:00 pm |
The San Diego Zoo's Focus on
Chelonians
Thomas Owens, San Diego Zoo
A look at the diversity of the San Diego Zoo's collection of turtles and
tortoises, addressing the successes of the past, present and the goals
of the future.
Tommy has a B.S. in Ecology and Evolutionary
Biology from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He has worked in zoos
for about 10 years in two different collections that have had a focus on
chelonians both in captivity, globally and through fieldwork with native
turtles. Current Field Work: demographic study of a large, reproductive
population of the Western Pond Turtle. |
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Saturday September 11 |
Evening Events & Banquet
6:00PM to 9:00PM |
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6:00 pm |
NO HOST MIXER, SOCIAL
MEET DR. PETER PRITCHARD AND BRING YOUR
PERSONAL COPIES OF HIS BOOKS FOR AN AUTOGRAPH |
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6:45 pm |
DINNER, AWARDS, RAFFLE |
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8:30 pm |
Banquet Address: Searching Pinta
Island for the G. nigra abingdoni subspecies of the Galapagos Tortoise
Peter C. H. Pritchard, Ph.D., Chelonian Research
Institute
Dr. Peter C. H. Pritchard will talk about his October 2003 expedition
of the Pinta Island with the Chelonian Research Institute and the Galapagos
National Park Service. He will review Galapagos tortoise conservation
efforts, and discuss the morphology and behavior of these giant tortoises. |
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Sunday September 12 |
CTTC's 40th Anniversary Turtle & Tortoise Exhibit
9:00AM to 4:00PM - CARSON CENTER COMMUNITY HALL |
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TURTLE &TORTOISE EXPO
Please join us for the Annual Turtle and Tortoise EXPO. We expect to set
a new record at this years event, featuring numerous Chelonian species from
around the world. Several CTTC chapters, conservation groups and other
vendors will be exhibiting. The Expo is open to the public for educational
and husbandry information, conservation, membership, rescue and adoptions.
Come and be part of California Turtle and Tortoise 40 year history. |
Anniversary Event Index
Mail Registration |
Online Registration
Map
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Directions
Contact for more information
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Dedicated to Turtle & Tortoise Preservation,
Conservation, Study and Education, Since 1964
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