An ornate box turtle found May 6, 2021, at the Nachusa Grasslands as a team of researchers and veterinary students perform health assessments on the threatened turtles.

In Illinois, ornate box turtles are very rare and listed as threatened. On Tuesday, I tagged along with a group headed by Kim Roman, field biologist for the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission.

The ornate box turtle is the subject of fieldwork this week in western Lee County, part of the 15th year of a box turtle health survey — the largest and longest in North America, researchers say.

When a lull comes in searching for ornate box turtles, he sends Rucker on ahead. It worked Wednesday at Nachusa Grasslands, a 4,000-acre property of The Nature Conservancy 100 miles west of Chicago.

Ornate Box Turtles have single hinge shells, which allows them to completely enclose their bodies from predators. "They can almost completely go into their shell," said Kinzlie Johnson, a 5th grader.

The ornate box turtle was a runaway winner, besting the prairie lizard, bullsnake, snapping turtle, six-lined racerunner lizard and western hognose snake. For whatever reason, that didn't ...

Ornate box turtles, native to Iowa and other parts of the Great Plains, are categorized as threatened in Iowa, as their habitat has been steadily eroded in favor of agriculture and housing.

Ornate box turtles measure about 4 to 5-inches long and normally have a domed, dark brown top shell with short yellow lines and dashes radiating from the center of each shell segment.

The ornate box turtle, the state reptile of Kansas, will be the subject of June's First Thursday Presentation at the Smoky Hill Museum. Professor Benjamin Reed from Washburn University will give ...

Researchers believe ornate box turtles, once living in half of Illinois' 102 counties, are found in less than 10. One known home for the species is in Lee County, and a team from the Chicago ...

Ornate box turtles live in grasslands throughout most of Nebraska. It’s one of 48 different species of reptiles that inhabit Nebraska. The ornate box turtle got its name from its single hinge shell.

The ornate box turtle, the state reptile of Kansas, will be the subject of June's First Thursday Presentation at the Smoky Hill Museum. Professor Benjamin Reed from Washburn University will give ...