When was the last time you came across a Wood Turtle? How about a Box Turtle? I usually suggest a hike. This time, take a drive. During the next several weeks we can all participate in a valuable rescue service. You’ve probably read that Galapagos Tortoises live for over two hundred years. Did you know Box Turtles may live for over 100, and Snapping Turtles the same? What this means is that the female turtle you’ll soon see navigating asphalt is the potential mother of generations, hundreds and hundreds of babies. Wood Turtles, Box Turtles, and Spotted Turtles are all on the CT DEEP list of Special Concern Species, no possession allowed. All are endangered by smuggling and local environmental concerns as well as vehicles.
Turtles predate the dinosaurs. Think about that. They have survived at least two great extinctions. Those hard shells have protected them for millennia but may not protect them from us. It’s been estimated that 20% of certain species are killed each year on our roads. “Turtles are the most imperiled major group of animals on earth” (Sy Montgomery, Of Time and Turtles, 2023).
The last week of May is the usual time in Connecticut that a female turtle leaves her pond and crosses a road: start looking now. I saved 6 or 7 last year. We can make a genuine difference here. But BE SAFE, ok?
Unlike most amphibians, reptiles lay their eggs on land. Snakes and turtles breed in May, just like most birds (amphibians did so in April). Reptiles, like amphibians, are ectotherms — they can’t control their body temperature except by moving. You may know most of this, but in addition to their impressively lengthy lives, turtles have other extraordinary powers.
Turtles can sense a pond a mile away, can breathe through their skin, or cloaca. Under the ice! There are turtles that climb trees, turtles that glow in the dark. Turtles are hard to kill. Without oxygen, a turtle’s brain can function for days. One’s heart continued beating, without its head, for five days. Just as with our pharmacological discoveries in the plant kingdom, animals such as turtles have qualities that may help us in the future (if we can save them long enough to investigate). Given that we’re on a long and risky journey ourselves to nurture and protect the next generation of earth’s biota, that strikes me as a good idea. Learning the secrets of turtle life may allow us to approach the border where medicine imitates magic, where science seems sorcery.
You may not save an already scarce box turtle or wood turtle. But just one would make a difference. Individual action begins with individual values – conservation, for example. “Insufficient gains are still gains.” (Phillip Atiba Soloman/Time Magazine 205, 2025). Take a ride. You know where the ponds and swamps are. Oh, and take a walk too. You may meet a red eft or a hog-nosed snake right now as well.
PS – Turtles know where they are going. Please move them off the road the way they are headed.
Yes! It seems obvious but some people just don’t know so it’s always a good reminder.
Good to read this. Seth and I always stop and help a turtle and we always move them off the road in the way the are headed. T
Interesting article George. Can you say more about what’s involved in turtle rescue for the uninitiated? I assume rescue basically means just picking them up and carrying them across the road in the direction they were going. But what about snapping turtles? What, if anything, should one do to help? And are there any other turtles that pose a danger? Thanks
Thanks, George! I’m looking forward to a walk with you soon!
Thanks, George, for another thoughtful, informative, and inspiring column.
Amazing creatures! Thanks for all the great turtle info; I gently moved one out of the middle of Mulberry Road last week – s/he was just stopped there for quite a while (perhaps stunned).