Politics & Government

Turtles In the Road

If you see a turtle in the road — help her get where she's going.

Why does the turtle cross the road? It’s probably a female, and she’s likely looking for an appropriate site to lay her eggs. It’s nesting season and if you’re traveling on Connecticut’s roads, the CT Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is asking you to keep an eye out for migrating turtles in your path. It's part of the Year of the Turtle awareness campaign, the CT DEP is conducting in association with Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (PARC).

May and June are the nesting season for many turtles, and egg-bearing female aquatic turtles leave the water to find nesting sites on land. This often requires crossing a road.

 “Helping a turtle move across the road can be the difference between life and death for the animal, and for future generations,” said Rick Jacobson, Director of the DEP Wildlife Division in a release.  “Be sure to assist a turtle only when it is safe to stop, pull over to the shoulder (if you are driving), and move the turtle across the road.  Do not attempt to stop traffic; your safety comes first.”

Find out what's happening in New Canaanwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

If the turtle you see on the road is a snapping turtle, take extra care. Snapping turtles  can be large, heavy, and feisty, so if you are unable to “shoo” it across the road, pick it up by the back of its shell — never by its tail — to avoid a bite.  The DEP said some people use a shovel or a stick to push or skid snapping turtles across the road.  One important reminder: always keep the turtle pointed in the direction it is going.  If you turn it around in the other direction, the turtle will only make another attempt to cross the road.  Also, don’t  move a turtle to a “better spot.”  Turtles have a home range and females often return to the same general area to lay their eggs.

Jacobson said the busy roads that intersperse Connecticut’s landscape force many turtles to travel great distances to find suitable nesting habitat. He said aquatic turtle populations across the United States have uncommonly high proportions of males because so many female turtles are killed on roadways. 

Find out what's happening in New Canaanwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The combination of a long lifespan, a low survivorship when newly hatched, and the fact that turtles take a long time to reach sexual maturity means turtle populations experience long-term consequences for losses due to adult mortality. Every individual is important to a population’s stability. With , more fragmented and isolated, this concern is even greater, according to the CT DEP.

The CT DEP asks that, if in your travels you encounter a turtle in the road, you remember this motto:  “If it is safe, help turtles cross the road.” 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here