Look out for turtles crossing!
May and June are peak months for turtle movement, as they cross roads to change ponds, search for mates, or look for locations to lay eggs. Turtles’ slow pace leaves them extremely vulnerable to being hit by vehicles. They will often cross roads after it rains or, on hot days, in the early morning or evening when the pavement is cooler.
If you try to help a turtle cross the road, first make sure it’s safe for you, then follow these simple rules: 1) Always guide or move the turtle in the direction it’s moving; if you don’t, the turtle will just turn around – it knows where it wants to go. 2) Never pick up a turtle by its tail, as the tail is part of a turtle’s spine and you can seriously injure, paralyze, or kill a turtle by doing so. 3) Snapping turtles can be safely moved, but you should never put your hands anywhere near the front half of the turtle. (There are great videos online about safely moving/handling snappers.) Always wash your hands or use hand sanitizer after handling a turtle, as they can carry the Salmonella virus.
Finally, please be attentive and patient when driving in more natural settings. The turtle you save could be a sixty-year-old snapper that could reach the age of 100, or a fourteen-year-old painted female who’s just come into maturity and will lay eggs for the first time. In a world that presents them with numerous challenges, let us all give these remarkable beings a fighting chance!