An adult female Ornate Box Turtle (Terrapene ornata) photographed in the wild in southern Barber County, Kansas during July 2007. The Ornate Box Turtle became the official State Reptile of Kansas on 14 April 1986 after a massive campaign by the states school children as well as by a number of educational and wildlife organizations. Governor John Carlin of Kansas signed the historic bill in front of over 700 people in what he said was the "largest bill signing ceremony of his terms as Governor" at the school gym in Caldwell, Kansas on 14 April 1986 making the Ornate Box Turtle one of Kansas' most loved symbols.