KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — Did you know turtles can also be called chelonians?
A chelonian is a type of reptile that includes turtles, terrapins or tortoises.
And those are the kinds of facts that you might just learn at the events Zoo Knoxville has planned for Thursday, which is World Turtle Day.
Curator Michael Ogle will provide guests an inside look on conservation work being done inside and outside the zoo for the turtles, according to a Facebook post from the zoo.
The 17th annual World Turtle Day serves as a way for people to celebrate and protect those chelonians across the world that are facing poaching, disappearing habitats and wildlife trafficking, the zoo said.
The zoo highlighted the work it's doing with two particular species in a separate post, the Roti Island Snake-necked Turtle and Radiated Tortoises.
"The Roti Island Snake-necked Turtle is a critically endangered freshwater turtle species from Rote Island in Indonesia," the post said. "It was described as a new species in 1994, only to be heavily collected for the pet trade over the next decade. This turtle hasn’t been observed in the wild since 2010. Illegal capture and trade are its primary threat to survival."
The Radiated Tortoise is also critically endangered, the zoo said, and lives in the forests and scrublands of Madagascar.
"Populations of Radiated Tortoises have declined by 50% since the turn of the century," the zoo's post said. "Hundreds of thousands of these tortoises have been poached for the local bush meat trade in Madagascar; and for the illegal pet trade in southeast Asia."
Want to check out the turtles and tortoises for yourself?
Here's the schedule of events:
Wee Play Adventure
10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Coloring Station and Tortoise Q&A
Herpetology Complex
10:00 - 11:00 a.m. & 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.
Tortoise Animal Ambassador Meet and Greet
10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Tortoise Education Station
11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Tortoise Egg Nest Research Station
10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Turtle Origami Interactive
11:00 a.m.
Storytime at Bronze Tortoise Statue
10:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m., 1:00 p.m.
Turtle and Tortoise Guided Tours