Keep Your Eyes Peeled For Snapping Turtles

You may have noticed saw horses popping up along Route 124 in the Belleisle area, but they do have a purpose.

It is an initiative by the Belleisle Watershed Coalition to make drivers aware of snapping turtles in the area.

Colin Forsythe, a biologist and project manager, said it is something they have been doing for the past several years.

“Now is when they come out of hibernation. They’re hungry, they’re ready to make their nests and lay their eggs, so we would start to see them more,” Forsythe said in a phone interview.

While some turtles are trying to cross the road in the search for food, some snapping turtles use the shoulder of the road to dig their nests, he said.

“Turtles like to dig and put their nests in soft, sandy sediment and leave them to be incubated by the sun,” said Forsythe.

While the roadside can be a convenient place for turtles to put their nests, it can prove to be dangerous for the reptiles.

All eight of Canada’s freshwater turtle species are at-risk and Forsythe said vehicle collisions are one of their main causes of death.

“I would advise any drivers to slow down, keep an eye out for what’s on the road and what’s on the side of the road,” he said.

If you do see a turtle trying to cross the road, Forsythe said you can help carefully guide it in the direction that it is facing.

“Don’t run out and pick it up and take it back to where it came from because it’ll just come to try and get back across the road,” he said.

“I often encourage people to take that few moments to walk behind it and help it get across the road. You can do something we call wheelbarrowing where you pick up, particularly for snapping turtles, the back quarter of the shell and walk it like a wheelbarrow across the street.”

Forsythe also encouraged people to report snapping turtle sighting to the coalition so they can track where they are at and set up a saw horse if needed.