RESIDENTS URGED TO LOOK OUT FOR TURTLES

To help mark World Turtle Day, the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection on Tuesday reminded residents to be on the lookout for turtles crossing roads.

May through July is the nesting season for many turtles, DEEP said in a news release. At this time, egg-bearing females travel across land, and sometimes roads, to find the perfect location to dig a nest and lay eggs. Aquatic turtles also leave the water in search of terrestrial nesting sites.

The purpose of World Turtle Day, sponsored by American Tortoise Rescue, is to bring attention to, and increase knowledge of and respect for, turtles and tortoises, and encourage human action to help them survive and thrive, DEEP said.

“Connecticut’s landscape is highly fragmented by busy roads, and many turtles are forced to travel great distances — and across roadways — to find suitable nesting habitat,” said Rick Jacobson, director of the DEEP Wildlife Division. “Helping a turtle move across the road can be the difference between life and death for the animal, and for future generations, but your safety comes first. Be sure to assist a turtle in the road only when it is safe to do so and do not attempt to stop traffic.”

He added that research has shown that aquatic turtle populations across the United States have high proportions of males because so many female turtles are being killed on roadways.

DEEP said that in assisting turtles, peoples should always keep the turtle pointed in the direction it is going. If it is turned around in the other direction, the turtle will only make another attempt to cross the road. Also, the turtle should not be moved to a “better spot,” DEEP said, and terrestrial box turtles should never be moved to a lake, pond or other water body. Turtles have a home range and females often return to the same general area to lay their eggs. Snapping turtles can be large, heavy, and feisty, DEEP said. If unable to shoo them across the road, people should pick them up by the back of their shells above their legs and tail, not by their tail, to avoid a bite. Some people use a shovel or a stick to push or skid snapping turtles across the road, DEEP said.

They also should not be taken home and kept as pets.