THE WEEKY VISTA (Bella Vista, Arkansas) 15 June 05 Turtles roam in search of freedom, romance (Dave Carpenter)

Why did the Terrapene cross the road? Answer: For a little romance.

Every year about this time, Bella Vista motorists often must slow down and sometimes swerve to miss the slow-moving Terrapenes -- aka three-toed box turtles. Most likely they are males.

Woodlands are the favored habitat of three-toed box turtles, so it's no wonder to Arkansas Game and Fish herpetologist Kelly Irwin that Bella Vista is crawling with young males off on romantic road trips.

But not all male box turtles make such treacherous treks in search of a mate. The majority stay home on the range in order to perpetuate their subspecies. These are typically the older, much more established masters of their domains. As they get up in years they expand the physical size of their ranges, rarely relocating. Studies have shown both male and female Terrapene gradually increase their home areas over time to more than 12 acres.

Most scientists categorize the wanderers as young males departing a territorial range where there is too much male dominance.

"You could call them teenagers," Irwin said. "They're coming out of areas where there's not enough room for another (mature) male."

Irwin could not give a hard estimate of what the box turtle population might be on Bella Vista's 65 square miles, but said, "It would be several 1,000."

One study of Terrapene spring mating habits resulted in another reason some young males take hikes that may put them in harm's way. These are the foot-loose and fancy-free, thrill-seeking Don Juans of the species. They don't take up permanent residences, preferring instead to lead a vagabond's lifestyle.

The theory is, these rambunctious ramblers are important to the subspecies because the practice of mating across established ranges creates a more random scattering of genes.

Whether it's a male being forced out, or a transient Don Juan, this behavior doesn't usually start until the males reach sexual maturity, which normally occurs at the age of 4 or 5. Before then, they hang out in temporary territories until their hormones trigger the first romance-seeking adventure.

Studies show box turtles are most active when the temperature is between 75 and 90 degrees, another reason why box turtles are so often seen these days.

Note: Scientic information for this article was provided by Kelly Irwin, herpetologist with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, and published by the Smithsonian Institute Press, compiled by Carl H. Ernst, Jeffrey E. Lovich and Roger W. Barbour.
Turtles roam in search of freedom, romance

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