Published October 31, 2025
CAPTION:Dr. John Carr received the Pritchard Turtle Conservation Lifetime Achievement Award
from Turtle Survival Alliance. Photo courtesy of Turtle Survival Alliance.
MONROE, La. – ULM Professor Emeritus of Biology Dr. John Carr has received the Pritchard Turtle
Conservation Lifetime Achievement Award from Turtle Survival Alliance. Carr was one
of four recipients of the award for 2025. Turtle Survival Alliance stated that Carr
was recognized “for his long-term work on Latin American Wood Turtles and Alligator
Snapping Turtles, and for his dedication to teaching and mentoring many students.”
“It wouldn’t have happened without the freedom to pursue my interests and develop
expertise over the years while at ULM, with the continual aid and helpful hands of
many graduate students along the way,” said Carr.
John Carr worked for Conservation International as a research scientist and later
became managing editor of Conservation Biology Publications. He went on to teach biology
at the ULM, focusing on anatomy, herpetology, and field biology, while directing 30+
thesis projects in Louisiana and Colombia. Upon his retirement from ULM in 2021, he
was named Professor Emeritus of Biology.
In Cali, Colombia, he serves as an International Research Associate at the Universidad
del Valle in the Animal Ecology Research Group. He has worked on turtle ecology projects,
and on taxonomic studies of geoemydids. He is a long-term member of the IUCN SSC Tortoise
and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group.
His field studies have included local chelydrids, trionychids, kinosternids, and emydids
in Louisiana and Texas, plus Kinosternon, Chelydra, and Rhinoclemmys in Mexico, Colombia and Ecuador.
Major collaborative works include the Las Tortugas y los Cocodrilianos de los Países Andinos del Trópico [The Turtles and Crocodilians of the Tropical Andean Countries], Amphibians and Reptiles of Louisiana: An Identification and Reference Guide, and editing of Special Issues of Acta Biológica Colombiana, Tortugas de Colombia, and the Southeastern Naturalist, Biology and Conservation of Alligator Snapping Turtles (Macrochelys).
About Turtle Survival Alliance
Formed in 2001 and gaining nonprofit status in 2004, Turtle Survival Alliance is a
global conservation organization that works to create a planet where turtles can thrive
in the wild. Their science-based initiatives are directed by local leaders, inspiring
sustainable, community-based stewardship to prevent extinctions. Where populations
cannot yet thrive in the wild, Turtle Survival Alliance’s captive breeding programs
preserve opportunities for their future survival.
For more information, visit turtlesurvival.org.
