The sea creature arrived at San Diego's Birch Aquarium in 2014 Ingrid Vasquez is a Digital News Writer at PEOPLE. She graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor in Journalism.

20150624_atc_how_the_turtle_got_its_shell.mp3?orgId=1&topicId=1007&d=145&p=2&story=416657576&t=progseg&e=417186679&seg=9&ft=nprml&f=416657576 Listen • 2:25 20150624 ...

One of the most telltale features of a turtle is its protective shell, and regardless of the species, most turtle shells are discernably similar. Despite what you might see on cartoons, a turtle’s ...

In cartoons, when a turtle is spooked, it retreats into and closes up its shell. While used for comic effect, this imagery is based in fact — although not all turtles are capable of this protective ...