A Day Of Buttercup, By Makaila Odoom

A Day Of Buttercup

 My name is Buttercup the sea turtle and I am here to tell you the story of turtles, tortoises, and tuataras. The story of what makes us, us! Let’s start with ME!!!! And my family. Lettuce begin! Get it? Heehee! (Tortoises love veggies, so that was a tortoise pun. My tortoise cousin, Tori, the Galapagos tortoise, taught me that one.)

Okay! So first, not all turtles are tortoises, but all tortoises are turtles! Turtles live in the ocean, freshwater, like me and my family, and on land. Turtles are reptiles. Both turtles and tortoises have shells that protect us, and some of us can pull our heads and limbs in to hide from predators. Our shells are made of bone and covered by pretty big scales made from the same material as our skin scales. Our shells can be hard or soft. Mine is hard, so I’m verryyyyyy strong! (I always say that to people I meet but I’m not exactly sure if it’s true….)

We all have sharp beaks, but we eat in different ways. Some turtle are carnivores, like my friend Tyler. He has REALLY tough skin that protects from jelly-stinging cells. Galapagos tortoises, like Tori, eat cacti, and use their beaks to scrape off the pointy things on them. (My mom and dad call them spines but I thought that was a weird name since they don’t look anything like the spine of a turtle I’ve seen in turtle x-rays.)

Now for tuataras! Tuataras are related to dinosaurs, you know those giant looking rhino things? They are the only species left of that group. Tuataras look a lot like lizards, but they are not lizards at all! They have a large head, a long tail, well developed limbs, and no eardrums! They do have a third eye, but my friend Mike, who is a tuatara, doesn’t know how to use it. The other tuataras he knows don't know how to use it either.

They mostly eat insects, like scavenging beetles and crickets. Sometimes they even eat small lizards! Mike doesn’t like to eat small lizards. I don't either! There is only one species of tuatara.

I am endangered, but people like you can help save my species. Don’t litter. Try to mostly use paper instead of plastic! Thanks so much for helping me! 

I hope you had a wonderful time learning about turtles, tortoises, and tuataras! Buttercup, out!

P.S. See you at a surprise time for another edition of A Day Of Buttercup!