...with the U.S. being the most “turtle-rich” country in the world, followed by Mexico.

Some of them have a limited geographic presence such as the wild Sonoyta mud turtle, which is found only in a half-acre pond Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Arizona. The discovery on Oct. 4, 2017, was species No. 47 during The Big Turtle Year.

In a blog post chronicling The Big Turtle Year, he wrote that later that month the Sonoyta mud turtle was listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

“No doubt, international management and conservation efforts are critical to the long-term survival of this subspecies,” wrote Heinrich, who was accompanied on some trips with his Florida Turtle Conservation Trust assistant director Tim Walsh.