A freshwater turtle may move slowly, but the risk of extinction for 7 out of 8 of Canada’s species is moving fast.
Freshwater turtles often build their nests and lay their eggs in the gravel hard shoulder of roads, making collisions with vehicles an ever-present danger. Photograph by Bailey Moreton.
Freshwater turtles spend the winter hibernating at the bottom of lakes, and when summer arrives, they emerge from their submerged slumber and search for mates. This time is vital for the survival of the species, unfortunately, it is also one of the most dangerous times.
Turtles are particularly prone to being hit by cars; female freshwater turtles are known to lay their eggs in the soft gravel often found in the hard-shoulders of more rural roads. Their natural habitats, the warmer and wetter regions closer to the USA border, are some of the most urbanized areas of Canada, increasing the frequency of roadside mortality and decreasing the safe spaces they have to settle.
« Typically one egg in a hundred – or even a thousand, wins the lottery and becomes an adult. » – David Seburn, a freshwater turtle specialist at CWF
A hatchling, rescued from the roadside as part of CWF’s road survey program to help Ontario’s freshwater turtles avoid roadside mortalities.
If they do manage to safely mate and lay eggs, freshwater turtles’ nests are a favourite target for raccoons, coyotes and some rats who eat the eggs and defenceless hatchlings.
According to David Seburn, a freshwater turtle specialist at CWF, only “typically one egg in a hundred – or even a thousand, wins the lottery and becomes an adult.” And with the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre (OTTC) getting around 10,000 calls a year about turtles in trouble, it seems turtles face a long and tiring race to survive.
Read more about the research and conservation that is ongoing to help protect Canada’s freshwater turtles in the latest issue of Canadian Wildlife magazine, May + June 2018 edition.
