During the last COSEWIC meeting (Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada) in November, 2007, the risk to wood turtles was upgraded from "Special Concern" to "Threatened", indicating that their populations continue to decline.

Algonquin has one of the last self-sustaining populations left in Ontario. While it's the largest remnant population there is, it's estimated that there are only about 500 individuals left in the park.

It's known that wood turtles are killed by traffic on roads and by road-building. The more roads there are, the greater the roadkill.

There is an illegal pet trade going on because of their attractive appearance, with individuals being captured and some being sent to overseas markets. Others are taken home by those who don't know any better. In Algonquin, all wildlife are protected, but it's probably obvious by now, that laws aren't always effective at preventing abuse.

Loss of habitat is another cause in the decline - wood turtles occupy lands along streams and rivers, and often these are developed or logged, with damage being done by heavy machinery. In Algonquin, additional buffers along all streams, large or small, are needed to protect habitat.

Photos for ID... the concentric growth rings on the carapace give the appearance of wood, and the orange-yellow colors near the throat are distinctive.

I have never seen a wood turtle in the wild...and probably will never see one.

Unfortunately, humans will always have the need to build, conquer and control everything without really thinking of the effects and consequences of their acts.

At least some of us due care and are willing to share real values with our younger generation...mainly our kids.

When should we be on lookout? I see so many dead turtles in the May-July period...so sad... Do wood turtles tend tos roads like painted and snappers? I wish they'd created more signage along vulnerable roads/areas..and educate the public to avoid collecting them (heavy fines would help...)

are they killed along the #60 corridor? there's a lot of carnage along that road...

Rob

Wood turtles prefer moving water and they use the lands beside rivers and streams, so roads that run parallel to moving water and stream crossings would be the places to look out for them.

COSEWIC has updated the wood turtle page since I posted last... they describe their threats in America and Canada.

http://www.speciesatrisk.gc.ca/search/speciesDetails_e.cfm?SpeciesID=286

I urge people to stop if they see a turtle on or near a roadway, pick it up and return it to a safe spot. I have picked up huge snappers with no problems, just use common sense and be gentle.

just make sure you put them in the proper place..i.e. in the direction in which they were heading, otheriwse they will have to cross the road again

Hi Cls,

You bring up a subject, that I'm writing about in a an upcoming triplog.
I've always been one to TRY and not to interfere with wildlife. In my case, A turtle was on a roadway.
I wasn't too sure if picking him up was the right thing to do or not, So I preferred to stalk it, thereby forcing the turtle to head for the safety of the ditch. I'm not to sure if that was wise also, but given the alternative(a flattened turtle), I thought at the time that stalking it to the ditch was the appropriate action at the time.

Is picking up a turtle really ok? I just want to be sure, as I honestly don't know.




Markus
Etobicoke, Onterry-airy-airy-Ohhh!

It's absolutely ok. I've done it many times. Your not interfering with wildlife if it's putting it's life in danger. I've also removed a fishing hook from a snapping turtle's mouth with no problems. You have to know what your doing and you don't want to hurt or scare the turtle. If your too nervous or not sure than it's probably not a good idea. Scaring a turtle probably does it more harm than good and chasing it will frustrate it more than anything. make sure you wash your hands after or use purell.

"I've also removed a fishing hook from a snapping turtle's mouth with no problems."

This sounds like a situation I might hesitate to jump into.

A good sized snapping turtle can bite off one of your fingers with little to no difficulty. I wouldn't recommend anyone pick up a turtle if they don't know how to handle them as they are one of the scavengers on the food chain and if the bite alone isn't bad enough the germs that go along with it don't help much!

Snappers (and many other turtles) are deceptively fast at "striking" either prey or in a defensive mode. They also can extend their necks further than most individuals would expect so what may appear to be a safe distance of four inches might be right in their range.

I have picked up turtles the occasional time and moved them across the road. It might be a bit stressful for the turtle for a moment, but better than "stalking" it and certainly better than leaving it in danger on a busy road.

According to the reptile and amphibians book of Algonquin Park, snapping turtles do not bite off fingers. "Snapping Turtle bites hurt and often draw blood, especially when the human recipient tries to yank their assaulted body part from the turtle's grip. But snappers cannot bisect fingers, or tear off chunks of flesh, or even bite through pencils. People who try to entice a turtle to bite a stick will likely injure the turtle's mouth and are invariably dissappointed at the lack of power and desrtuction. Nevertheless, snappers can cause injury and so should be handled when neccessay and with much care and gentleness"

no way

my niece was badly injured by a smallish snapper (4") - broke skin and lots of blood...almost needed stitches... if that thing was 12" it would have done serious damage


those same books publish rubbish like black bears are harmless

I had a friend hold the turtle between it's front and back legs (firmly, it's claws could do more damage than it's jaws) and I removed the fishing hook with my bare hands (kidding, kidding... did I not mention above to use yer smarts and don't handle if nervous...?) with needle nose pliers and I gently removed the hook that the fisherperson was too afraid to do. I watched them sit on the bridge bragging to thier sons that they were trying to catch "it". They were pretty tough when it came to handling the situation.

I'm sure any being could hurt you if it wanted to if it was startled/threatened/afraid/unsure/panicked etc. It's not stopping me from dangling my feet over a dock. My oldest son was floating about off the dock at the cottage and a huge snapper swam up beside him out of curiosity. My son walked on the water and the poor turtle was gone.

MLD,

We've trapped snapping turtles in the past to make snapper soup. We would use a fish or a chicken leg wired to a large hook. On one occasion we startled a snapper as it was taking the bait but was not yet hooked. It swam away unharmed and left a nub of the chicken bone where the hook was wired to it after severing the bone. In another case, my dad and a buddy were retrieving a turtle in the shallows of the river here. The water was muddy from a pursuit and cornering of the animal when my dad told Tom to pick up the turtle while my dad was standing on it to keep if from swimming away. Tom tested which end to pick up by poking around with his paddle and the turtle latched onto it and took off a dime sized chunk of the paddle blade! Tom picked it up by the other end to get it in the boat. While these are anectdotal pieces for you folks, I'm quite certain it can happen.

Also, these were large turtles in the 15 pound and higher category (largest we ever caught was 28 pounds), however, smaller snappers like those referenced in the thread can be viscious as well. They likely wouldn't be able to take a finger off unless you gave them a few hours to gnaw on it but the ones in the 10"-15" range can really do some damage. The really large ones over 15" from head to tail should just be observed at a safe distance and left alone.

Mmmmm...turtle soup....

what's it taste like?

A lot like crab soup...they have a somewhat stringy meat much like crabs do and the soup is often made to be fairly spicy with a vegetable base and mixed vegetables in it.