RECORDER AND TIMES (Brockville, Ontario) 10 June 06 Motorists urged to watch out for turtles laying eggs (Tracey Tong)
Motorists need to pay special attention to wildlife on the roads this time of year.
Turtles, especially snapping turtles and painted turtles, can be seen on roadsides across the region in the spring, said Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals shelter manager Tracy Gaskell.
"It's that time of the year when they're laying their eggs," said Gaskell.
Turtles return to the same site where they were hatched to lay their eggs and they tend to lay their eggs on the side of the road because it's easy for them to dig holes to bury the eggs in the dirt, she said.
There are three kinds of turtles in the area, said Stefan Foerster, supervisor at the Mac Johnson Wildlife Area.
"There's an abundance of snapping turtles, which are the largest (kind) and painted turtles and Blanding's turtles," Foerster said. Blanding's turtles are fairly uncommon.
This year, turtles started laying their eggs two to three weeks ago, a little earlier than in past years, Foerster said. On Thursday alone, he observed five snapping turtles laying their eggs, including one turtle that managed to find its way into the swan nest.
"It was kindly removed," chuckled Foerster. "Milli and Mac (the wildlife area's resident trumpeter swan) were not happy."
Foerster said that the conservation area is looking into placing turtle signs around the property, but said that signs on roadsides are the responsibility of the municipality. He's been getting a lot of calls about turtle sightings on the roads surrounding the wildlife area.
The SPCA also gets a lot of calls about turtles at this time of year.
"We usually let (the turtles) do their thing and they will go on their way," Gaskell said. "They'll lay their eggs and they'll go back to the area where they were."
Turtles will usually stay on the side of the road, Gaskell said.
She said for the turtle's safety and their own, people should refrain from trying to pick them up.
"Some people move them to the wrong side of the road and the turtle will just cross back to the other side of the road again," she said. "And snapping turtles can really do a lot of damage to you. They have sharp and quick jaws and can move their heads way back. I don't want people putting themselves in harm's way."
So what do you do if there's a turtle on the road?
"All you can really do is avoid them," Gaskell said. "They're slow enough that you can see them and avoid them."
Motorists urged to watch out for turtles laying eggs