Welcome

By Jim Low - Turtles can't hurry to get out of your way, but alert drivers can increase their chance of survival.

Jefferson City, MO - infoZine - You are cruising down the highway on a beautiful spring day when you spot a fist-sized stone on the pavement ahead. Then you notice the stone is moving. Your reaction could have serious consequences for you and for one of Missouri's most beloved animals and the state reptile, the three-toed box turtle.

Box turtles probably are more likely to die by being struck by a motor vehicle than any other way, according to Missouri Department of Conservation Herpetologist Jeff Briggler. He would like to see fewer of the harmless creatures die on highways. On the other hand, he doesn't want people put in danger in the process.

Missouri has two species of box turtles. The three-toed box turtle is primarily a woodland species and is found everywhere but the extreme northern part of the state. The ornate box turtle is found in all but the southeastern corner of the state, but is more adapted to grassland and is most common in western Missouri.

Three-toed box turtles have three toes on each hind foot, unless they have lost a few appendages to predators or frostbite. Ornate box turtles usually have four toes per hind foot. In keeping with their name, ornate box turtles also have more vivid yellow stripes on a black background on the tops of their shells. The bottoms of their shells typically have streaks of black on a yellow background.

Both species suffer significant casualties each spring. Turtles are struck by cars throughout the warm months, but they are at special risk at this time of year, when they are moving around looking for mates and establishing home ranges.

Nor is romantic wanderlust the only factor contributing to box turtles' special spring peril. Like other reptiles, they are cold-blooded. Walking out onto warm asphalt and basking in the morning sun feels good when the air and earth still carry winter's chill. That sets them up for disaster.

Being long-lived animals, box turtles have a low reproductive rate. Before roads crisscrossed their habitat a low reproductive rate was no big deal. Animals that continue laying eggs past 60 years of age can afford to take their time replacing themselves. But the unnatural mortality caused by speeding cars is a problem.

"Box turtles' survival strategy doesn't take cars into account," said Briggler. "Not much is known for sure about the impact, but all you have to do is count the dead ones alongside any stretch of highway in May or June to know that highway mortality is a fairly significant drain on the population."

Briggler says there is a fine line between things drivers can do safely to avoid hitting box turtles and dangerous actions.

"I would never want anyone to swerve to miss a turtle," he said. "But if there is a shoulder, or if there is no oncoming traffic, you can steer around turtles."

Likewise, Briggler does not want motorists to endanger themselves to help turtles across the road. But if conditions permit them to park their cars entirely off the roadway and traffic is not heavy, turtles can be carried to the side of the road where they were headed and placed at least 15 feet beyond the pavement, facing away from the road.

Briggler also is troubled by the too-common practice of capturing box turtles for pets. He said the animals' nutritional needs are not easy to meet in captivity, so captive turtles are likely to die due to improper care. In most cases, that means slow starvation.

"If you want to keep a turtle in your yard for a day or two for the enjoyment of watching them, that's fine, but make sure they have somewhere they can get out of the sun, and return them to the same spot where you picked them up."

He said turtles are intimately familiar with their home areas. If released in strange surroundings, they might have trouble finding food or wander across roads trying to meet their daily needs. By keeping your eyes on the roads, you can spare the lives of many box turtles.

Source: Missouri Department of Conservation