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Community Corner

It's a Dangerous Time of Year...

if you're a turtle.

Recently I spent some quality time outdoors. And though there was much to enjoy, I’m left with some disturbing memories. It seems everywhere I went I was reminded of how perilous life is for that order of animals called turtles.

My first morning walk took place on a woodchip path. I found at the end of a dead-end road. Scattered holes dug in the woodchips indicated where turtles had laid their eggs, but sadly the broken eggshells told the story of death. Hundreds of eggs had been dug up and eaten by any of a half dozen possible culprits.

From a turtle’s perspective, the woodchips were the ideal nesting site, providing the optimum balance of heat and moisture. But at some point, egg-loving animals made a mental note that easy meals could be found in places like this, and that creates a problem.

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I took another walk, but this time along a road bordering a wetland. The asphalt road was laid on a deep bed of gravel with steep banks on either side. The gravel banks showed similar symptoms, the broken shells of death were here too.

Reflecting, I wish I could pass on some words of wisdom. I might talk about how our fragmentation of wetlands is to blame, but it’s not as simple as that. I might defend the need to better control the populations of animals like raccoons, but it’s not just that. What I would not do is say that this is the way nature is supposed to work, because nothing could be further from the truth. Nature is about balance and the balance was thrown out of whack a long time ago.

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Finally, I walked along a stretch of road I’ve been monitoring the last several years. I found three DOR (dead-on-road) turtles. I’ve found as many as six, but even one is bothersome. When I first began this survey, I’d see dozens of turtles sunning themselves in the nearby wetlands, now I only see a few. Concerning is the possibility that a small fragmented wetland cannot sustain a viable population of turtles given a high predation rate on the eggs and an excessive rate of road kill.

In a discussion with a biologist, we considered the possibility that the turtles might somehow adapt. It now seems funny that we talked about the turtles adapting rather than the drivers adapting. How can something the size of a full-grown turtle ambling slowly across a road go un-noticed by any reasonably conscientious driver? It’s not like they can jump out into the road and catch the driver by surprise!

Ok Jerry, take a deep breath and let it out slowly.

I do apologize.

As you drive, please pay more attention to the road in front of you. That highway cuts right through the homes of our local wildlife. Accidents are accidents sure, and they happen, but paying more attention might make the difference in a life this week, and ultimately the survival of a local population of turtles. And if you care as I do, send this article to anyone who might listen. It really is a matter of life and death.

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