How do the turtles cross the road? With help, sometimes.

Jeff Green | May 05, 2021

With an earlier than normal thaw this year, turtles have been on the move since early April.

Although Ontario’s turtles spend most of their time in the water, both males and females travel on land in the spring, summer, and fall. All turtle species need to lay their eggs on dry land. Since roads are everywhere, they often need to cross them to get to their nesting sites. About half of the turtles hit by cars are adult females on their way to lay eggs. June is the height of nesting season, but they are active on roads anytime between April and November.

Unlike other animals that are often hit by cars, turtles move slowly. It is not hard to avoid them if you are driving at a reasonable speed and looking far ahead. Not only is driving carefully safer for turtles – it’s also safer for drivers.

One of the major reasons that turtles often end up having to cross over roads and highways has to do with the changes that have taken place in southern Ontario over the last 100 years.

“Over 70% of southern Ontario’s wetlands have been drained or filled or otherwise converted to other uses, and the wetlands that remain are often fragmented by roads,” according to Ontarioturtle.ca

Helping turtles cross the road

Ontarioturtle.ca is active across Ontario, and Turtles Kingston provides resources for turtle lovers in South Frontenac. Turtle Guardians is a project of the Land Between, which covers Haliburton and Hastings Counties, as well as North and Central Frontenac.

While the first bit of advice, from all these organisations, is to drive slowly on country roads in order to be able to easily avoid turtles, helping turtles cross the road, only in cases where there is no traffic, can be beneficial.

“Always be sure of your own safety before stopping to help a turtle on the road,” says Ontarioturtle.ca “If it is safe to do so, gently move the turtle in the direction they are going. Do not handle the turtle any more than is necessary. Once you have moved it across the road retreat a respectful distance if you wish to continue observing it.

“Most turtles can be picked up carefully with two hands. But be careful helping a snapping turtle across the road – keep a safe distance from their head as they will snap at you if they feel threatened. Do not handle a snapping turtle unless you feel comfortable doing so.”

How to handle a snapping turtle:

An uninjured snapper can be coaxed across the road using a shovel or a board,

If you must pick up a snapping turtle by hand, do so by coming behind him, and sliding your dominant hand underneath him, from under the tail, as if you were picking up a tray of drinks, or a pizza box. Stabilize the tail with your non-dominant hand (of course you do NOT hold them by the tail). This should prevent any ability to bite or scratch you. Make sure to hold them well away from your body! A Snapper can reach its midpoint, so do not pick it up near its middle.

Never pick up a turtle by the tail; you may damage its spine.

Make sure to wash hands, or carry a hand sanitizer with you in the care – do not handle food until you have washed your hands. Turtles have a good relationship with bacteria that we do not. While they may not be sick, they can still pass on bacteria to us that can cause illness in humans.

Turtle species in Ontario

There are 7 common species of turtle in Ontario, and all of them have been designated as species at risk.

The most at risk are the Spiny Softshell, Spotted and Wood turtles, which are classed as ‘Endangered’ - species that face imminent extirpation or extinction. Blanding’s turtles are classed as ‘Threatened’ - species likely to become endangered if nothing is done to reverse the factors leading to extirpation or extinction. Three other species, Northern Map, Eastern Musk and Snapping turtles are classed as ‘Species of Special Concern - species that may become threatened, or endangered, because of a combination of biological characteristics or identifiable threats.

Anyone who is interested in learning more about turtles and becoming active in turtle conservation, can register to be a turtle guardian at turtleguardians.com.

Within the turtle guardian program, guardians can progress from identifying turtle species, to monitoring wetlands, working on conservation projects, to becoming full fledged turtle researchers.

In the past, and hopefully in the future as well, Turtles Kingston ran a trauma response program, whereby, in partnership with local veterinarians, volunteer drivers transported injured or dead turtles to the Sandy Pine Wildlife Centre.

Because of COVID-19, that program was cancelled in 2020 and has been cancelled for 2021 as well.

Turtles Kingston is asking those who come across dead or injured turtles to take care of the transport themselves.

For people living in Southeastern Ontario, turtles can be brought to the Sandy Pines Wildlife Centre (8749 County Road #2 – Napanee – 613-354-0264) and the other location, that does this kind of work, is the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre at 1434 Chemong Rd #4, Peterborough – 705-741-5000) Call first before going to either of these locations. They both have instituted COVID protocols for the safety of their staff and the public.

For further information, go to Turtleguardians.com, Ontarioturtle.ca or the Turtles Kingston Facebook page.