Dangerous time for region’s turtles - those Turtle Crossing Signs aren't a joke

It is that time of year when female turtles are making treacherous journeys accross our neighbourhood roads to lay their eggs, which is why you often see Turtle Crossing signs.

This article from the Record outlines the reasons for the signs and why it is important for our neighbourhood turtles to make the crossings unharmed.

Turtle Photos of the female snapper and her labourous efforts. The turtle laid her eggs along Homer Watson between Stirling and the Expressway.

Submitted photo

KITCHENER — Why did the turtle cross the road?
What sounds like an innocuous joke is serious business for the region’s turtle population this time of the year.

Late spring to early summer is when female turtles are on the move to find places to lay their eggs. This often means dragging themselves across roads, something perilous for a creature whose trademark is its slow gait.

According to Josh Shea, the natural areas co-ordinator for the City of Kitchener, turtles are also drawn to the side of roads because there is usually loose gravel or sand with lots of sunlight, which are the perfect conditions for turtle eggs.
“At this time of year, until July, people have to keep an eye out for turtles on the side of the road,” says Shea.

It was that scenario that presented itself to Janet Carey on Saturday. While driving home, Carey, a Kitchener resident, noticed a snapping turtle that looked like it was about to make its way across Homer Watson Boulevard between Stirling Avenue and the entrance to the Conestoga Parkway.
“I looked at it and I said ‘Uh-oh, there’s trouble,” said Carey, a member of the Kitchener Waterloo Field Naturalists.

A concerned Carey stopped on the side of the road and got out to ensure the turtle didn’t make the dangerous trip across four lanes of fast-moving traffic. However, upon seeing Carey, the turtle turned around and started to make its way off the roadside.

Carey headed back home but remained concerned, and after making a call to Shea about the turtle, she returned to the location. It was then that she saw the turtle in the process of laying eggs. Carey and other onlookers, including Shea and Carey’s neighbour, Heather Bagg, would stay a few hours while the turtle laid a total of about 20 eggs, before returned to the Lakeside Park area that extends west of Homer Watson and Stirling Avenue.

“It was quite fascinating to see this kind of thing,” said Carey. “It was a nature lesson right there on the side of the road.”

Seeing the turtle lay eggs was also exciting for Shea, who deals extensively with turtles as part of his role in the Turtle Project, which monitors the state and location of the region’s turtle population.
“It was a very neat experience,” said Shea. “You don’t get to see many snapping turtles, so seeing it on the side of the road gives you some perspective.”

According to Shea, snapping turtles are one of two main types of turtle found in the region, along with painted turtles. Snapping turtles, Canada’s largest freshwater turtle, are listed as a “special concern species” under Ontario’s Endangered Species Act. Along with crossing roads, the other dangers for the turtles are from habitat loss and pollution caused by urban sprawl, both significant factors in a fast-growing Waterloo Region.

Shea says that the best thing that region residents can do to help protect turtles is to be aware while driving near wetlands or protected areas. If seen on the road, the smaller painted turtle can be picked up and placed on the other side of the road, while snapping turtles need to be treated with more caution, but can be lead across with a stick. Shea adds that it’s important that the turtles are led to the other side of the road, or they will just continue to try to cross it.
“They are a neat animal to have a city and we need people to be aware of them,” says Shea. “We can all do a little bit to be aware and protect them.”