The Reimann’s snake-necked turtle is not a conventionally attractive creature — except, perhaps, to other snake-necked turtles — but Zoo Atlanta’s specimen is about to experience 15 minutes of fame.
The turtle will be on the cover of National Geographic magazine next month as part of a multi-year project by photographer Joel Sartore. Sartore came to Zoo Atlanta several years ago to photograph a handful of the zoo's animals with the goal of capturing images of every animal in human care, before they disappear.
Atlanta's smiling turtle (look closely, there is definitely a smile there) will grace one of 10 different covers of the venerable magazine, all to be produced for the April issue.
There are 12,000 different species of birds, fish, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates kept in the zoos and aquariums of the world, and to date Sartore has photographed 6,000 of them for a project he calls the Photo Ark.
“Photo Ark will serve as an important record of each animal’s existence and a powerful testament to the importance of saving them,” the magazine writes.
The other animals to be immortalized on the cover of the April issue are the waxy monkey tree frog, hippopotamus, snowy owl, Malayan tiger, Brazilian porcupine, southern three-banded armadillo, Indian peafowl, mother and baby koalas and Coquerel’s sifaka (that’s a kind of lemur).
The different covers will be distributed randomly to National Geographic subscribers.
Classified as "near-threatened," the snake-necked turtle is in slightly less danger of becoming extinct than such species as the the Malayan tiger and Kemp's ridley sea turtle. Atlanta's turtle is currently in the conservation breeding center and not on exhibit.
Zoo spokesperson Rachel Davis said zoo personnel are not sure if the creature is male or female. The little fellow is 2.5 inches wide, and would fit comfortably in the palm of your hand.
National Geographic has created a quiz that allows readers to determine which Photo Ark cover animal matches their personality.
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