Oh, that Mother Nature, she’s a tricky one!

For instance, she somehow decided that the temperature of a mama turtle’s nest would determine the sex of her offspring. Which was working out just fine until this whole global warming thing threw a big hot wrench into her plans. Because now, as temperatures are rising, Mother Nature is faced with a marked gender discrepancy among her turtles.

For example, in Florida, Loggerhead sea turtle nests are currently producing 90% females, and, if temperatures rise just one more degree, no more males will be produced there at all! Not such a good thing if female Loggerhead babies want to grow up and breed baby turtles of their own. (And you single women with ticking biological clocks thought you had it bad!)

Perhaps that’s one reason why the Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (PARC) have declared this the Year of the Turtle. With 50% of freshwater turtles threatened –more than any other animal group — they want to bring attention to the simple things that can be done to keep these creatures, who have been here since the age of the dinosaurs, on the earth a while longer.

Things like tunnels under highways, turtle-safe fishing nets, and protection for turtle nests on beaches can all help. That global warming thing, though, will be a little harder to fix.

So, if you feel for the turtles’ plight, why not don today’s VPOD to stimulate dinner party conversation and drum up support for one of the many turtle conservation organizations.

This vintage 1950s Pauline Trigere tunic blouse features a huge turtle front-and-center and another huge turtle on the back.

It’s a great graphic find for a reptile-lovin’ vintage fashionista.

Available at North South Vintage.

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