Why Did the Turtle Cross the Road?

by Kristen Cecala, Special to the Messenger

With the arrival of warm weather, you may have noticed our slow-moving, reptilian neighbors have emerged onto the roads. Sewanee is home to several turtle species, including box turtles, snapping turtles and red-eared sliders that often cross the roads that bisect their habitats. Pond-dwelling turtles such as snapping turtles require aquatic habitat for overwintering and foraging but must lay their eggs in sunny terrestrial habitats that ensure proper egg development. 

The search for high-quality nesting habitat often requires that they cross the road. 

For some turtles, grassy roadsides represent ideal nesting locations. Likewise, terrestrial box turtles cross roads not only for egg-laying but also to access overwintering locations, food, water and mates. 

Turtles are long-lived animals that may not breed until they are 10 years old, and each hatchling has less than a 5 percent chance of making it to adulthood. Therefore it is essential to the long-term viability of turtle populations to protect the adult turtles that are producing eggs every year. Turtles are declining throughout the southeastern United States for a multitude of reasons, but cars are now one of the leading threats to turtles as they slowly cross roads to complete their life cycle. 

How can you help turtles? 

Look for turtles on the road and help them cross. First and foremost, be safe when pulling over to the side of the road and in crossing the road. Move the turtle safely to the side of the road to which it was traveling. If you place the turtle back on the side it came from, it will often try to cross the road again. For larger turtles, such as snapping turtles, never pick them up by the tail, and take care to avoid being bitten. To move these large turtles, you may pick them up by the back of their shell and pull them to the other side of the road pointing their heads away from the road. 

Don’t take turtles home. Turtles have detailed knowledge of their home ranges that have taken a lifetime to acquire. They know where to find food, water and shelter from cold weather or predators. In novel habitats such as your backyard, they become confused and begin to wander, which increases their risk of starvation, freezing, predation and road mortality.

Reduce large-scale mowing during turtle nesting season. The height of turtle shells means that they can be damaged from the rotating blades of mowers. Turtles are on the move in June to find mates and lay their eggs, and hatchlings emerge from nests in August and September. Limiting mowing during these times reduces the risk of injury.

Notify Kristen Cecala of locations where you see turtles crossing roads. Turtles brought to her from the Domain will be measured, aged and marked for inclusion in a database designed to predict the future of turtles on the Domain. Call 598-3153 or email <kkcecala@sewanee.edu>.

Cecala is an assistant professor of biology at Sewanee.