Man saves turtles on busy road

KEEP an eye out for turtles on the road.

That’s the message a motorist from Junction View wished other drivers would heed, after he rescued 30 turtles from a busy road.

Odin Odell was going home from work when he discovered nearly 50 turtles crossing where Western Drive intersects with Tenthill Creek Rd from the direction of what remains of Lake Apex.

“On the way home I came to that intersection again, and there were turtles everywhere,” he said.

Mr Odell was unable to save all of the turtles, arriving on the scene to discover between 10 and 15 turtles had already been killed by traffic.

He pulled over and loaded up the back of his ute.

But there were more than he could keep track of.

“Every time I turned around, there was another turtle coming up the grassy hill trying to get onto the road and cross.”

Mr Odell said he’d driven that route for 10 years and, during the time, he’d rescued eight additional turtles but never before had he seen so many at once.

“They’ve been fleeing all over the valley all week because the dams are dry,” he said.

“What I’m assuming is happening is the water is turning toxic because of all the manure in it. They’re trying to flee to somewhere with fresh water.”

Mr Odell said he’d been rescuing native animals for many years.

The situation with the turtles of Lake Apex left him stumped as far as a solution was concerned.

“Some water in Lake Apex would be handy, but that’s a pretty big ask for a dry community,” he said.