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Rare Tortoises: Species Survival Plans At The Knoxville Zoo

WUOT | By Chrissy Keuper

Published February 5, 2014 at 5:30 AM EST

Michael Ogle, Assistant Curator of Herpetology at the Knoxville Zoo, with Radiated Tortoise, "O.G."

In their more-than-200-million-year history on the planet, turtles and tortoises, like other reptiles, have changed very little… certainly not fast enough for a world that is quickly changing around them.

The Knoxville Zoo currently houses a number of reptiles under 20 Species Survival Plans, breeding programs designed to boost animal populations.

WUOT's Chrissy Keuper has this feature with Mike Ogle, the Knoxville Zoo’s Assistant Curator of Herpetology…

Ploughshare Tortoises at the Knoxville Zoo

Ploughshare Tortoise at the Knoxville Zoo / Keepers often mark the shell, or carapace, to identify the animal if it is stolen and/or smuggled.

Chrissy Keuper

Chrissy served as WUOT's News Director and host of monthly public affairs talk show Dialogue from late 2021 to early 2023. Her first job with the station was as weekend student announcer while earning her bachelor's in Anthropology from the University of Tennessee. She had previously been the station's local host for NPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered news programs; occasionally filled in as host for WUOT's Morning and Afternoon Concerts; and won multiple awards for her interviews, feature stories, and Dialogue.

See stories by Chrissy Keuper