Many people may feel a bit like turtles this spring — eager to soon safely emerge from our shells and get back to enjoying the world. For humans, this might mean masking up and swapping sweatpants for going-out clothes. For turtles, it means braving busy roads to find mates and get to their nesting grounds.
As we all emerge from our dens and hit the road on new adventures, wildlife sightings — and collisions with vehicles — are more likely to involve turtles. The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is asking motorists to give turtles a break by keeping a keen eye out for the threatened creatures who may be basking on the pavement or simply trying to cross the road.
Spring is an active period for turtles that are setting off from their usual habitats to find mates and nesting sites. The many at-risk species of turtles in Canada, like other reptiles, are cold-blooded, so basking on gravel, sandy roadsides or warm asphalt feels good on cool spring days. And while a turtle’s shell can protect it from predators, it’s no match for a car. Every turtle lost in a vehicle collision has a significant domino effect for its entire species.
In southern British Columbia, the extensive road network means that many turtles are struck each year as they are crossing or basking on the warm roads. NCC encourages motorists to slow down when they see a turtle on the road and make sure they can safely steer around it. To learn how to help a turtle cross the road, watch our video on turtle safety here.
Turtles must survive for many years before they are able to reproduce. Many only produce eggs once a year and tend to have a very low egg survival rate. A loss of one adult turtle can mean the loss of a decade or more of turtle population development. To maintain their numbers within a population, turtles count on the survival of the adults, especially the females. Studies show that just a five per cent increase in annual mortality can put an entire population at risk of decline.
“Turtles are an important part of wetland ecosystems,” said Virginia Hudson, NCC manager of conservation planning and stewardship in British Columbia. “They play the role of the wetland janitor by helping keep wetlands clean and healthy by eating dead plants, insects and animals.”
The western painted turtle is the only native pond turtle left in the province (the Pacific pond turtle is considered extirpated, or no longer occurring, in BC). Western painted turtles are found in southern BC, where development pressures have significantly altered or destroyed much of their habitat.
“Whenever possible, our conservation work in British Columbia has prioritized conserving and restoring wetlands in the densely populated and developed valley bottoms through the settled south of this province,” says Hudson. “Not only turtles, but many other wildlife species rely on wetlands for some or all of their lifecycle.”
“Western painted turtles do happen to be among the more charming wetland creatures,” said Hudson. “It’s always uplifting to see a bunch of them sunning themselves on logs or swimming in the shallows. They are a great sign that our conservation efforts are working.”
Tips and facts
Other threats to turtles include habitat loss, invasive species and illegal collection for the pet trade.