Every once in a while, an animal rides the subway, and it's usually pretty cute. But this poor guy, a tiny box turtle trapped on the Atlantic-Pacific platform in Brooklyn, just looks really, really freaked out. Could it be because he's actually Lionel, the escaped box turtle from the Inwood Hill Nature Center, blown so very far from home? more ›

A cute eastern box turtle has been missing from the Inwood Hill Nature Center for several days now, and befuddled park rangers don't seem too worried about the little guy's fate. And unlike some other escaped animals who became instant Internet celebrities, the turtle has not exactly captured the public's attention. more ›

As if hearing about the kitten thrown from a car on the Verrazano Bridge wasn't enough, now there's this terrible story about animal cruelty: Some jerk hammered a rusty nail into a box turtle, through its shell and into its body. more ›

Two Long Island teenagers have been charged with animal cruelty and third-degree criminal trespass after dousing a turtle with gasoline, setting it on fire, and then stabbing it with a pole until it died. Roark Xanthos and Thomas Gorman, both 18, allegedly found the 12-pound snapping turtle off of Bellport Road on May 22nd. The two asked a friend if he wanted the turtle, but he declined. Xanthos and Gorman then apparently waited for their friend to leave his house, constructed a fire pit in his backyard, and tortured the animal. more ›

Who doesn't love a giant tortoise story? Newsday reports that a Bronx woman discovered a shelled one in the yard of her Baychester home Tuesday. They note that "the giant tortoise species can grow to be four feet long and up to 660 pounds, and are generally living in remote areas of the world. Experts are unsure of how it has been able to survive on its own in the Bronx." (Maybe it was recently fired from the zoo?) This one measures 30 inches and 60 pounds, and has been named Shelly, of course. She's being cared for at the Animal Care and Control Center, so it's unlikely she'll have a run in with some pranksters on the street, like poor 'ol Myrtle the Turtle. more ›

Just after Brooklyn's two-headed turtle made it into the papers, The Daily News reports that someone snapped up the rare reptile sometime between 11 a.m. and noon Sunday, right from its window spot in Sean Casey's Hamilton Dog House shop! Casey says it's imperative he "get the turtle back fast because it requires special handling," and he'll take the it back "no questions asked." But just how did someone pull off the mid-day turtlenapping? Casey had placed it in the open "so that the kids could interact with him," but when a customer inquired about it, he was shocked to find it missing. Currently he's getting together some $1000 in reward money for the turtle, and added that he grew up in Windsor Terrace and "did not expect it in this neighborhood." more ›

So about that slow news summer...did you hear about the two-headed turtle residing in Brooklyn? The Daily News reports the turtle has been in the front window of the Sean Casey Animal Rescue since earlier this month; "Casey, 27, got the two-headed turtle from a man in Florida who rescued a bunch of eggs after an adult female was killed by a car a year ago." Casey nursed the turtle, who was deteriorating, back to health, and now plans to keep him as the store's mascot. Paul Sieswerda, curator of the New York Aquarium at Coney Island, said a two-headed turtle wasn't unheard of, and that "It's very similar to conjoined twins." Casey will soon get the turtle X-rayed to determine if the two heads are sharing one set of organs underneath the shell. UPDATE: the turtle has been stolen! Two-headed turtle: doing his part to speed up the slow news summer. more ›

Curbed is reporting on the latest victim of luxury condos: Myrtle the Turtle. Who's behind the act of animal cruelty? All fingers are pointing to the construction workers, who have the same shade of red paint on site at 5 Roebling Street. A neighbor, and friend of Myrtle the Turtle, wrote in:

It is obviously intentional because she got such a sustained spray that it has drip marks. The face and feet, as well. It is the exact color that the excavation people use on the 5 Roebling site to mark elevations on walls adjoining, so they know how deep to dig…