{"id":13960,"date":"2024-05-06T16:52:52","date_gmt":"2024-05-06T16:52:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/?p=13960"},"modified":"2024-05-08T14:40:31","modified_gmt":"2024-05-08T14:40:31","slug":"6-tips-to-keep-these-reptiles-safe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/en\/6-tips-to-keep-these-reptiles-safe\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Tips to Keep These Reptiles Safe"},"content":{"rendered":"

Did you know that turtles have been around for over 200 million years?<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s true! But now they\u2019re in trouble. Canada has eight native freshwater turtle species which are all at-risk of extinction. If you\u2019d like to see these species make a comeback, we\u2019ve got six tips to help them out!<\/p>\n

1. Slow Down While Driving<\/h3>\n

<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re driving, be careful and watch out for turtles. Turtles come out in late May and June to cross roads and find spots to lay their eggs. They really like laying eggs on the sides of roads where there\u2019s gravel. So, it\u2019s super important to drive slowly, especially near wetlands. When you drive slower, you can see turtles better because they move slowly and might look shiny from far away.<\/p>\n

2. Learn How to Help a Turtle Cross the Road<\/h3>\n

<\/p>\n

Make sure the road isn\u2019t busy and if it\u2019s safe enough for you to get out to help the turtle. If the turtle is small, you can pick it up by holding onto either side of its shell (you\u2019ll want to grab the shell somewhere between its front and back legs). Never pick up a turtle by its tail, as this can damage their spine. Move the turtle in the direction it was going.
\nGot a Snapping Turtle on your hands? You\u2019ll know if you do because it\u2019ll be a bigger turtle with a long tail. Careful for these guys! They can bite (hence the name). For Snapping Turtles, grab a shovel or board and try to coax the turtle to the other side of the road. They might bite down on the shovel or board so you can then drag it!<\/p>\n

Watch this video to learn how to safely move a turtle across the road.<\/a><\/p>\n

3. Make a Nest Protector<\/h3>\n

<\/p>\n

Turtles lay their eggs in nests, but sometimes other animals like foxes and raccoons try to eat them. When nests are lost to predation, turtle populations can decline. You can help build a nest protector during their nesting season in May to June. They\u2019ll keep the eggs safe because they make it hard for predators to get in. Find out how to build a nest protector here.<\/a><\/p>\n

4. Give Them a Spot to Bask<\/h3>\n

<\/p>\n

Got a cottage? Leave fallen trees and branches in place along shorelines to give turtles a spot to bask in the sun.<\/p>\n

5. Log Your Turtle Sightings at iNaturalist Canada<\/h3>\n

<\/p>\n

Log your observation of a freshwater turtle in Canada at iNaturalist\u2019s Help the Turtles project<\/a>. Knowing where turtles are found and even where they are being hit on roads is an important first step to fixing the problem. Gathering everyone’s observations will really help us figure out which roads might need some extra attention for improvement, and which wetlands we should definitely keep an eye on.<\/p>\n

6. Watch Out for Turtles While Fishing<\/h3>\n

<\/p>\n

Sometimes people fishing might accidentally hook a turtle! Yikes! Those hooks aren\u2019t always easy to unhook. If a turtle has a hook in its mouth, it can be hard for it to eat. If it swallows the hook, it might die. If you hook a turtle, don\u2019t cut the line. Leaving that hook in can be deadly. You\u2019ll want to reel the turtle in slowly and carefully remove the hook. If it\u2019s hard to remove, call a rehabilitation centre in your area. <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Did you know that turtles have been around for over 200 million years? It\u2019s true! But now they\u2019re in trouble. Canada has eight native freshwater turtle species which are all…<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":13963,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[631,637],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13960","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-connect-with-nature","category-lakes-rivers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13960","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/60"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13960"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13960\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13976,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13960\/revisions\/13976"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13963"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13960"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}