Why Are The Turtles Crossing The Road? It's Nesting Season In CT

CONNECTICUT — It's time for the turtles again in Connecticut and state environmental officials have issued their annual advisory about them wandering onto roads.

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection sent out the advisory Monda. They said residents should be on the lookout for turtles crossing streets. May through July is the nesting season for many turtles, and egg-bearing females travel across land, and sometimes roads, to find the perfect location to dig a nest and lay eggs, DEEP officials said.

Aquatic turtles also leave the water in search of terrestrial nesting sites, according to DEEP officials.

"Connecticut's landscape is highly fragmented by busy roads, and many turtles are forced to travel great distances — and across roadways — to find suitable nesting habitat," DEEP Wildlife Division Director Jenny Dickson said. "Helping a turtle move across the road can be the difference between life and death for the animal, and for future generations, but your safety comes first. Be sure to assist a turtle in the road only when it is safe to do so and do not attempt to stop traffic."

She added, "Research has shown that turtle populations across the United States have uncommonly high proportions of males because so many female turtles are being killed on roadways."

Humans lending a helping hand should always keep the turtle pointed in the direction it is going, DEEP officials said. Turning a turtle around will only restyle on another attempt to cross the road.

Here are some other tips:

• Do not move the turtle to a “better spot.”
• Do not put terrestrial box turtles in a lake, pond, or other water bod ... leave the turtle in the same area where it was found once it is removed from the road.
• Turtles have a home range and females often return to the same general area to lay their eggs.
• Snapping turtles can be large, heavy, and feisty, so if unable to "shoo" them across the road, pick them up by the back of their shells above their legs and tail — not by the tail, to avoid a bite. Some people use a shovel, stick, or even car mats to push or skid snapping turtles across a road.

Turtles have a long lifespan, take a long time to reach sexual maturity, and have low survivorship when newly hatched, DEEP officials said. Because of these attributes, turtle populations cannot compensate for losses due to adult mortality without experiencing long-term consequences, they added.

DEEP officials said, "With turtle populations requiring high levels of adult survivorship, every individual — especially the adult female— is important to a population’s stability. This concern is even greater in recent years because many U.S. turtle populations are becoming fragmented, isolated, and progressively smaller. In your travels, if you encounter a turtle in the road, just remember this motto — give turtles a 'brake' and help them cross if it is safe."

Officials said residents aware of a certain section of road where a large number of turtles are crossing on a regular basis should let the DEEP Wildlife Division know by sending an email, with location information, to deep.ctwildlife@ct.gov.

Officials said residents should resist the temptation to collect a turtle for any amount of time, including to keep as a pet. Turtles should be left in the wild, they added.

"Removing individual turtles from the wild, including hatchlings, can have a huge impact on the local population," Dickson said. "Every individual is important to the population's stability. Keep in mind that caring for a pet turtle is not as easy as you may think. Turtles require specific temperatures, diets, and lighting for digestion and shell health. Cages must be kept clean as turtles can carry salmonella. Plus, turtles live a long time – 50 to 100 years for an eastern box turtle, which is illegal to collect and possess in Connecticut."

The novelty of having a turtle as a pet tends to wear off, leaving the owner with a decision of what to do with it, Dickson said..

"Captive turtles, whether they were collected from the wild or bought at a pet store, should never be released to the wild," Dickson added. "Released turtles rarely survive, frequently introduce undetectable respiratory or other diseases to wild populations, and in the case of non-native species, may harm native turtle populations."

She also said. "The best way to enjoy turtles is to watch them in their native habitat. Help keep wild turtles wild and leave them where you find them. Instead of collecting turtles, take photographs instead."