Why Did the Turtle Cross the Road?
|
|
Photo used with the generous permission of Clinton Gilders. Click on the photo to visit Clinton's Flickr page.
Maybe to find a mate, maybe to find new habitat, but most turtles crossing the road are females heading to a nesting site, typically May through July.
Females build a nest and lay their eggs in sandy, well drained soil, often in the gravel shoulders of roads.
Unfortunately, the Dufferin Marsh is divided by two well travelled roads. A slow moving turtle is unlikely to complete a road crossing without encountering an automobile. Dufferin Marsh Nature Connection members have noticed a significant amount of turtle carnage, likely because of the increased traffic due to construction and detours.
Females build a nest and lay their eggs in sandy, well drained soil, often in the gravel shoulders of roads.
Unfortunately, the Dufferin Marsh is divided by two well travelled roads. A slow moving turtle is unlikely to complete a road crossing without encountering an automobile. Dufferin Marsh Nature Connection members have noticed a significant amount of turtle carnage, likely because of the increased traffic due to construction and detours.
Turtle Nest Protection |
How you can help |
We can protect turtle nests with a cover. It's a 2 ft.² box with a screen top and small cutouts on each side, which allow the baby turtles to exit after they have hatched. It's placed over the nest site until the eggs have hatched at the end of the summer.
The covers are spiked in place to deter foxes, raccoons, coyotes and the like from digging into the nest to eat the eggs. The boxes can be briefly removed for mowing (just don't use a lawn tractor!) - but if possible, it's best to mow/trim around them if you can. If you'd like a turtle nest protector, reach out to the Dufferin Marsh or Charles Cooper on Facebook. |
For starters, slow down and pay attention when driving. Turtles are very slow moving animals, and easily avoided by attentive drivers.
If you do see a turtle crossing the road, help it get to the other side. Here’s how:
|
It’s a Snap!!!
If the turtle is large with a long tail, it is likely a snapping turtle. Snapping turtles have long necks and you’ll want to be very careful not to get bitten. Remember that the turtle does not know you are there to help and is often very frightened, thinking you are a large predator. If they snap, they are just trying to protect themselves.
There are several methods for moving snappers:
Injured Turtles
If the turtle is large with a long tail, it is likely a snapping turtle. Snapping turtles have long necks and you’ll want to be very careful not to get bitten. Remember that the turtle does not know you are there to help and is often very frightened, thinking you are a large predator. If they snap, they are just trying to protect themselves.
There are several methods for moving snappers:
- NEVER pick up a turtle by it’s tail (which is part of its spine) as this can seriously injure it.
- Use a shovel, board or similar type of blunt object and gently coax it across the road from behind.
- Shove cardboard, a board or a car mat under the turtle and drag it across the road.
- If you are able to get the turtle to bite on a stick, you may drag it across the road. It may get a little scraped, but turtles, like all reptiles have tough scaly skin.
- Grab the rear of the shell behind the hind legs, turn it around and gently slide the turtle across the road. Be sure to spin it around in the direction it was headed before releasing it.
Injured Turtles
- If you come across an injured turtle, carefully place it in a well-ventilated plastic container with a secure lid and immediately contact the Toronto Wildlife Centre (416-631-0662).
- Keep it warm and dry, away from air conditioning vents.
- Do not feed or give it water.
- Grievously wounded turtles that one would assume are dead may be alive and in agony. Turtles have slow metabolisms and can suffer for days before dying.
- Even if the turtle is dead, if it is female with eggs the eggs may be harvested.
|
Did you know?
|
