NORTH BAY — Snapping turtles are a species of special concern in Ontario.
They are now on the move across the province, including the Nipissing District.
Experts say the population is at high risk of suffering negative influences brought on by human activities.
The mandate of the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre (OTCC) located in Peterborough, is to “ Protect and Conserve Ontario’s Native Turtles.”
OTCC executive and medical director Dr. Sue Carstairs says snapping turtles are at high risk of becoming endangered if measures aren’t taken to prevent that from happening.
“In their case, the prime reason, aside from habitat loss is road mortality. So that has caused a real significant decline in population because a lot of them are adults,” said Carstairs.
Snapping turtles are the largest turtle species in the province.
It is estimated that it takes about 59 years for a snapping turtle to replace itself in the population.
Quite often turtles tend to travel many kilometres on dry land.
“Historically that has been fine, and then we’ve put roads and subdivisions in their path and they just continue on the way they’re programmed to do without stopping,” said Carstairs, who adds that they are capable of climbing chain link fencing that tends to surround properties, anything they can get their claws into.
“I usually recommend if the turtle is in immediate danger and people feel comfortable doing so, to move them out of harm's way.”
The turtles have been spotted in residential areas, including recently in the West Ferris area of North Bay, making their way slowly across city streets into yards.
“If there is a dog in the yard, I would be more worried about the turtle getting hurt than the dog getting hurt. So, make sure they are not exposed to any animals or humans that are going to do anything bad to them,” said Carstairs.
The medical director goes on to say the direction they travel may not make sense to us, even if they are moving away from water to do their business.
“Whether it is going to find a place to lay eggs or find mates or find where they want to hang out next when the water levels change. So, get them out of harm's way, and let them go about their business in the direction they were headed if possible.”
Drivers have been known to use their floormats to move a turtle off the road.
Some people may instinctively want to lift them out of harm's way, but there is the danger that lifting a turtle too high could result in it being unintentionally dropped, cracking the shell.
Never pull or pick the turtle up by the tail because it could damage the spine.
Carstairs has some tips for the safe handling of a snapping turtle to keep both you and it safe.
“You come from behind toward the tail and with your dominant hand, you go underneath the shell, stabilizing their body with your non-dominant hand around the tail area. You’re not picking it up by the tail. It just helps stop them from being wiggly. You pick them up just like a tray of drinks.”
You never want to put your hands any further than the midway point, because the turtles will turn their long necks to give a nasty bite.
The front half of the body needs to be treated with respect.
“Unlike old wive’s tales it is not going to snap a finger off but an adult snapping turtle can deliver quite a crushing wound and they don’t tend to let go. So, it can cause a lot of inflammation and swelling and bruising. There have been incidences of people going into emerg with one still attached because they won’t let go. It is just a defensive move because they can’t hide in their shells. So, that is how they avoid being eaten.”
Turtles also have a relationship with bacteria which is harmful to humans.
“Like salmonella for instance. They can get it and not have any clinical signs. It is in their gut, but if they have some on their shell and you touch it, then you can get sick from that,” said Carstairs.
“Wearing gloves is ideal. Or if you don’t have gloves, at least using Purell or washing your hands thoroughly after handling is a very good idea.”
OTCC cares for turtles from all over Ontario. The largest it has seen weighed around 35 pounds and was roughly two feet in diameter.
“Sadly, each year we see fewer and fewer of the big ones because once they’re gone, they may be 100 years old and there is none to replace them,” said Carstairs.
“But we don’t get the great alligator snapping turtles here in Ontario that are humongous.”
The males tend to look for females early in the season which runs from May to September.
“They tend to be the big ancient males. We’ve just recently started seeing some females.”
A snapping turtle can lay 50 to 60 eggs annually with less than a one per cent survival rate.
“Most of the eggs are dug up and eaten by animals like raccoons and skunks. Most of the hatchlings don’t even make it to the water. So that is why it takes 59 years for one snapping turtle to make enough babies to even have a chance at replacing themselves in the population,” said Carstairs.
”It puts into perspective how important an adult is. You can really devastate a population by taking out the number of adults that are killed on roads each year.”
It is a late start to the turtle season this year.
“Usually by June they’re starting to lay eggs but we haven’t had any snapping turtles in with eggs yet. That cold snap really set them back, so you’ll be seeing them out laying eggs probably from mid-June on.”
The snapping turtle is attracted to the gravel area at the side of roads, which is why they are commonly found on or near roadways.
“We don’t want anyone getting injured trying to move the turtles,” said Carstairs.
“We’re all about turtles, but we’re all about human safety as well.”
The interruption to the construction season due to COVID-19 restrictions may have benefited the species.
“If they’re not doing construction there is less destruction of habitat, so that is all good. As far as people on roads, we haven’t seen that as a benefit because they weren’t active when the big lockdown was on because it was too cool. I’m sure as far as where their habitat is, they’re really enjoying not being disturbed.”
The OTCC’s hotline is open to the public from May to September from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week for anyone with questions.
The centre is a registered charity that takes in injured turtles from across Ontario and has partners across the province who are trained to do first response.
The emergency hotline number is 1-705-741-5000.
