Here's how you can help save Ontario's turtles from being road kill

MNR News Release

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Ontario's snapping turtles are struck and killed by motor vehicles every year. Turtle populations are already under stress due to wetland loss and habitat degradation. Road mortality adds another significant stress that puts the species in jeopardy.

During the spring and summer, the threat of vehicles to turtles is at its highest. This is especially true for females as they wander away from water in search of nesting sites. Some even try to nest on gravel roads or on the shoulders of paved roads.

What Can Drivers Do?

• Watch the road carefully when you're driving, especially where the roads are close to wetlands and rivers.

• Remember that turtles don't move very quickly, and their first response to danger is to pull into their shells.

• If it’s safe to do so, you can help by moving a turtle off the road in the direction it was heading.
About Ontario’s Native Turtles

• There are eight species of turtles in Ontario, seven of which are considered species at risk under the province’s Endangered Species Act.

• Turtles live a long time – some can live 90 years or longer!

• Some turtles don’t start to lay eggs until they are 20 or more years old. Since surviving turtles can’t lay extra eggs to make up for the adults that have been killed, it is difficult to reverse the trend once a population starts to decline.

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