Why Did the Turtle Cross the Road?

Anyone traveling Wisconsin roadways has likely seen the broken shells and other soft pieces of a once living turtle. Many involve the more common species like the painted turtle, but some are the rare Blanding’s or wood turtles. Their misfortune is the result of them trying to cross the road to find food, mates, or especially at this time of year, suitable nesting sites.

• Protect Turtles! [VIDEO Length 2:58]

A common snapping turtle crossing the road.
© A.B. Sheldon

What Can I Do To Help?

• Slow down around wetlands in June
• If it is safe for you and other drivers, stop and help the turtle off the road in the direction it is heading.
• Support Bureau of Endangered Resource Turtle Conservation efforts

Turtles are an important and fascinating part of a vast food web necessary for other wildlife and plant life, and highway mortality continues to be one of the major threats to our native turtle populations.

Motorists are most likely to see turtles crossing roads near lakes, streams and wetlands this time of year because the roads separate the aquatic habitat where turtles spend most of their lives from the well-drained upland habitats where female turtles deposit their eggs. This annual ritual generally reaches its peak from late May to June.

The widely fluctuating temperatures this spring appears to have caused turtle nesting season to get started a little later than normal.

Most turtles will stop moving when they feel or see a vehicle coming, so they are easy to drive around without going into the other traffic lane or off the pavement. And despite the armor, a turtle is no match for a steel belted radial tire. Each adult female that is eliminated from the population is significant, particularly if it is one of the rare species. Most of Wisconsin's 11 turtle species are experiencing significant population declines. They are up against tough odds even without highway mortality and they need our help!

If you see a turtle on the road -- and only if it's safe to do so -- carefully pull over and help the turtle to the side of the road it is facing.

When helping an aggressive turtle -- such as a snapping turtle -- off the road, the safest way to avoid being bitten is to gently drag it across the road by it tail, leaving the front feet on the pavement. It may help to use a stick that the turtle can bite, allowing one to grab the tail more safely.

Travelers are advised to slow down and watch for other wildlife as well this time of year. White-tail deer yearlings have recently been chased off by their mothers, who are now giving birth to this year's crop of fawns, and many yearling deer are hit and killed on roads this time of year as they look for areas to establish their own home range. Read the news release.

Photos

Thumbnails link to larger images.