Nesting season has begun - watch for turtles on road
Why did the turtle cross the road?
To get to the other side.
Really.
And the reason is no joke.
Turtle nesting season has begun again throughout the suburbs and pregnant turtles are leaving their watery homes to find higher and drier spots to lay their eggs.
Unfortunately for the slow-moving reptiles, their journeys often take them across roads and highways, putting them in danger from fast-moving vehicles. The turtle's hard shells can protect them from many dangers, but not from the impact of cars and trucks.
“Turtles focus on one thing this time of year: getting to their nesting sites, roads or no roads,” said Dan Thompson, an ecologist with the DuPage County Forest Preserve District.
So DuPage and other forest preserve districts are cautioning drivers to pay closer attention to the road.
“If you see something that looks like a bump in the road, slow down,” said John McCabe, director of resource management for the Cook County Forest Preserve District. “It may not be just a bump in the road; it could be a turtle.”
By getting the word out, officials are hoping to help secure safe passage for turtles before their nesting season ends in mid-July.
In fact, Wendy Kummerer, communications manager for the McHenry County Conservation District, said it's a time when drivers should be looking out for all sorts of wildlife.
“This whole month, animals are on the move,” Kummerer said.
The situation is serious enough that warning signs are posted in some locations.
In McHenry County, for example, officials installed turtle crossing signs in 2009 along Algonquin Road between Lakewood and Square Barn roads.
Ed Markison, maintenance superintendent with the McHenry County Division of Transportation, said that stretch even has curbs designed to prevent turtles from climbing onto the road. “If they somehow managed to, they can get off the road and into the grass rather easily,” he said.
Unlike other animals, turtles have a primitive sense of hearing and can't process sounds from oncoming traffic or honking horns.
“I don't think they can comprehend a vehicle and the threat that poses,” said Gary Glowacki, a wildlife biologist with the Lake County Forest Preserve District. “And their defense mechanism when they are scared is to crawl up inside their shell and sit there, which is not a good strategy if they're in the middle of the road.”
That's why it's up to drivers to do what they can to avoid the animals.
“If you are driving attentively, you should be able to avoid hitting a turtle,” Thompson said.
While it seems counterintuitive to us to cross a busy road, some turtles might have been making the same journey since before the road was built.
The turtles simply are taking the path their instincts tell them to take.
Before deciding whether to help a turtle on the road, you first need to ensure you're not putting yourself or others in danger. Find room on the shoulder where you can safely pull over and turn on your vehicle's hazard lights to alert other drivers.
“If somebody else is with you, they should be watching traffic while you help the turtle,” Thompson said. “If you're alone, then you have to be on very high alert to watch traffic yourself.”
McCabe said he doesn't recommend touching a turtle, especially if you haven't handled one before.
“If it's a snapping turtle, you could get injured if you try to pick it up the wrong way,” McCabe said. “The claws on the turtle could scratch you.”
DuPage officials recommend using a shovel or car floor mat. Gently slip the shovel or mat under the turtle and scoot it across the road. A sturdy branch also could be used to push the animal along.
If you use your hands, it's a good idea to wear gloves. Pick up the turtle with both hands, one on either side of its body toward the back. Never lift a turtle by the tail because it's part of the animal's spine and can't support weight.
Emphasizing that turtles know exactly where they're going, McCabe said you should move a turtle only in the direction it was heading.
“If you put it back on the side it was coming from, it's just going to turn around” and try to cross the road again, he said.
Kummerer said residents should never relocate a turtle to another area.
“Don't try to bring it to a pond closer to your house or something because then you disorient it,” she said.
DuPage officials are advising anyone who finds an injured turtle to consult Willowbrook Wildlife Center. The facility, at 525 S. Park Blvd. in Glen Ellyn, cares for injured native species and strives to release them back into the wild.
Fortunately for some pregnant Blanding's turtles in DuPage, they won't have to worry about crossing busy roads this year.
They've been given a safe place to lay their eggs as part of the forest preserve district's Blanding's turtle recovery program. Since 1996, the district has been trying to rebuild the endangered species' numbers in DuPage.
Once a turtle lays her eggs, she's released and her eggs are placed in an incubator. Then when the hatchlings are old enough, they're released into the wild.
A similar program is being done by the Lake County Forest Preserve, which is planning to release about 100 baby Blanding's turtles Thursday.
There are signs the efforts are paying off. Last week, Thompson found young turtles that had been released through DuPage's program.
“They've been surviving for a few years now,” he said. “It's exciting. We are watching our populations build back up.”