A Perilous Journey
Every year thousands of turtles cross our roads for various reasons. As the weather warms up, many turtles search for new territories, breeding grounds, or food.
Year after year in late spring, female turtles begin their voyage to find a nesting site on land. Aquatic species haul themselves out of their beloved body of water and may end up crossing the road to find a suitable place to lay their eggs. We know this is one of the biggest causes for road-crossings, as roadkill disproportionately effects female turtles of a mature age. Many times, females choose to nest in an area that may be difficult for the babies to traverse when they hatch. These babies know exactly where they need to go but may get hit by a car or predated upon on the way. In other cases, turtles may go to roads to bask when feeling unwell. Because they cannot thermoregulate internally, they try to create a behavioral fever by laying under the sun. Unfortunately, hot asphalt is a great way to do that.
Do turtles have superpowers?
In my personal opinion, yes! They are excellent navigators with the ability to create mental maps and rely on an internal compass. They become very familiar with their home range, which can include a yearly nesting site, overwintering grounds, and the wetlands they utilize during the active season. In fact, sea turtles have been known to swim hundreds of miles annually to get to their destination nesting site!
What can you do to help?
If you ever see a turtle on the road, it is very important to help the turtle get to the other side in the direction that it was going. If you decide to pull over, please prioritize your own safety! Not only do turtles have exceptional navigational skills, but they are also very stubborn! Redirecting or relocating a turtle can be very dangerous for them. They may take a longer and potentially more treacherous path to the place they originally wanted to go. Additionally, turtles learn to live and love their home, making it very difficult to learn how to navigate, forage, and socialize in a new environment.
When encountering turtles that may be dangerous to handle, like Common Snapping Turtles, there are still some steps you can take to help! Many wild turtles will be frightened at human interaction and may try to bite. If you are uncomfortable handling any turtle, you can use a car mat or shovel to put under the turtle and slide it. Please never pick up a turtle by their tail, as this can result in severe spinal damage!
What if I find a turtle that’s been hurt?
Turtles are insanely hardy and can survive some pretty horrific injuries. If you come across an injured turtle or one that has been hit by a car, we always recommend bringing it into your nearest wildlife rescue, such as the WMC! If you are unable to bring it in, please contact your local fish and wildlife department to ask for guidance. Never attempt to treat the animal on your own, as this could put you or the turtle in danger and may be in violation of state laws.
Case example!
In mid-September, I was presented with a hatchling common snapping turtle on triage. Generally, snapping turtles lay eggs during May and June, with the hatchlings emerging around September. Therefore, this little one was on perfect schedule! The hatchling had been picked up by a Good Samaritan that had found it trying to cross the road. They were most likely trying to get to the nearest body of water.
On exam, it was a perfectly healthy baby weighing in at 10 grams! Its age was determined not only by size, but by how squishy the hatchling’s shell was. It also had a visible umbilical scar, as seen in the featured image! In the early stages of life, it is normal for a turtle’s shell to be soft and pliable. This allows for “give” as the turtle expands and grows. Sadly, this is also a major reason for predation in newly hatched turtles. The umbilical scar, or yolk sac, can be thought of as a belly button. It is where the turtle embryo was attached to the shell when it was in the egg. Within about ten days, the yolk sac is fully absorbed and there will no longer be evidence of a scar.
Time for Release!
In this case, we did not know where the turtle had been found and picked up, so we were very hesitant to release it. We knew that it may be hit by a car or predated upon trying to find its way back to its original destination. It was going to take some deep detective work to find out where the little one had come from.
In the meantime, we set up the hatchling with a proper enclosure in the clinic. This included a tank filled with water, a heat lamp, rocks for a basking area, a UV lamp, and fake plants and logs for hiding spots to decrease stress. We also began experimenting with different food items to see what the turtle would enjoy eating. Some of the options included cut up brine shrimp, turtle pellets, bloodworms, mealworms, and pinky mice. We learned that the patient really took a liking to the brine shrimp!
With a lot of luck and determined investigation, we were able to find out where the patient had been found. It just so happened to be a couple of blocks from a large body of water! A few days after the turtle presented to the clinic, I was able to release it. I hope that it will grow for years to come and be a beneficial contributor to our ecosystem!
Written by: Erika, Class of 2027
