How did the turtle cross the road?
With a little help from its friends.
The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, in a news release, reminded state residents "to be on the lookout for turtles crossing roads."
"The months of
May and June are the nesting season for many turtles and during this
season egg-bearing aquatic turtles often cross roads in search of
terrestrial nesting sites," the release said.
landscape is highly fragmented by busy roads, and many turtles are
forced to travel great distances – and across roadways – to find
suitable nesting habitat,” Rick Jacobson, Director of the DEEP
Wildlife Division, said, also in the release.
“Helping a turtle move across the road can be the
difference between life and death for the animal, and for future
generations, but your safety comes first. Be sure to assist a turtle in
the road only when it is safe to do so and do not attempt to stop
has shown that aquatic turtle populations across the United States have
uncommonly high proportions of males because so many female turtles are
being killed on roadways,” Jacobson said, also in the release.
The following is information released by DEEP, unedited here (except for links) and posted a public service:
Guidance on Assisting Turtles
keep the turtle pointed in the direction it is going. If you turn it
around in the other direction, the turtle will only make another attempt
to cross the road. Also, DO NOT move the turtle to a “better spot,” and
DO NOT put terrestrial box turtles in a lake, pond, or other water
body. Turtles have a home range and females often return to the same
general area to lay their eggs. Snapping turtles can be large, heavy,
and feisty, so if you are unable to “shoo” them across the road, pick
them up by the back of their shells, NOT by their tail, to avoid a bite.
Some people use a shovel or a stick to push or skid snapping turtles
across the road.
have a long lifespan, take a long time to reach sexual maturity, and
have low survivorship when newly hatched. Because of these attributes,
turtle populations cannot compensate for losses due to adult mortality
without experiencing long-term consequences. With turtle populations
requiring high levels of adult survivorship, every individual is
important to a population’s stability. This concern is even greater in
recent years because many U.S. turtle populations are becoming
fragmented, isolated, and progressively smaller.
your travels, if you encounter a turtle in the road, just remember this
motto: “If it is safe, help turtles cross the road.”
Those interested in learning about Connecticut’s turtles can visit the DEEP’s turtle webpage at www.ct.gov/deep/yearofturtle.
Photo credit Paul J. Fusco/DEEP Wildlife Division
Labels: aquatic turtles, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, turtles, wildlife