KANSAS CITY INFOZINE (Missouri) Turtles Out Early This Year, Need Moto....

KANSAS CITY INFOZINE (Missouri) 01 May 06 Turtles Out Early This Year, Need Motorists' Help - Reptile expert says highway toll could have long-term effect on turtle numbers. (Jim Low)
Jefferson City, Mo.: It is a familiar sight; a box turtle struggles across a busy highway, unaware that the odds are against it. Visit the same spot an hour later and chances are good you will find a dead or dying turtle beside the pavement. Such sights are likely to appear earlier than usual this year, and the long-term consequences are not pleasant for turtle lovers to contemplate.
Jeff Briggler is a herpetologist with the Missouri Department of Conservation. That makes him Missouri's top turtle caretaker. He loves spring, but he hates the carnage that accompanies the return of warm weather.
"It's hard to put an accurate figure on the number of turtles killed by cars every year," said Briggler, "but if the roads I travel are any indication, it must be in the thousands. Over time, that kind of mortality could take a toll."
Missouri's most common land turtle is the three-toed box turtle. It inhabits the southern two thirds of the state. The ornate box turtle is more common the farther west you go in Missouri. Both species are extra active in the spring, seeking mates and nest sites.
Wild box turtles have been known to live more than 60 years. Briggler said he and other experts think some might live more than 100 years. You might think that such long-lived species would have no trouble surviving, and indeed, turtles have been around for hundreds of millions of years. For box turtles, however, cars could turn out to be a sort of evolutionary catastrophe.
"The thing about long-living animals is that they typically don't produce many young in a given year," said Briggler. "Box turtles don't reach breeding age until they are six or seven years old. Any that get killed by cars before they reach that age are out of the gene pool before they get in. Even the survivors face an uphill battle to replace themselves."
Raccoons, opossums, coyotes and other predators raid turtle nests, and they will kill and eat young turtles before they get old enough to have hard shells. Disease, freezing and drowning claim some turtles each year, too. Turtles have adapted to these factors over millions of year. Cars, on the other hand, appeared in an evolutionary blink of the eye. And with the dramatic increase in the number of roads and highways in the past century, turtles now have much harder time reproducing without having to venture across a road.
"We don't know how many box turtles there were in Missouri before automobiles became common," said Briggler. "We don't know if turtles produce enough young to replace the number killed on highways. It would be really sad if these animals, which have been around for such a long time, started to disappear in our lifetimes."
Briggler noted that box turtles are moving around looking for mates earlier than usual this year on account of unusually warm weather. He suggested some ways Missourians can help reduce the number of turtles killed by cars.
- Steer around turtles on the road, but only if you can do so safely. Don't swerve to miss turtles.
- When you see one turtle, slow down and be extra watchful. Turtles are more abundant in good turtle habitat, and you may be seeing more soon.
- Help turtles across roads, but again only if you can do so safely. Do not stop on busy highways. Park your car well off the pavement to avoid being hit by other cars, and wait until there is no traffic to pick up turtles.
- Pay attention to the direction the turtle is traveling and move them forward, not backward. Otherwise they may try to cross the road again.
- Place the turtle several yards away from the pavement, and face them away from the highway.
While box turtles might not be high-profile species in terms of economic value, Briggler says they are an important part of the state's natural community. "Nature is so complex, you never really know all that one species does until it's gone," he said. "We don't know what the world would be like without box turtles because they have been here longer than we have. I really hope we never find out."
Briggler recommended against adopting turtles to protect them. They have special needs that can not be easily met in captivity, and most captive box turtles develop serious health problems.
"It's okay for a child to keep one in a box overnight to encourage their curiosity about nature," said Briggler, "but put them back where you found them the next day so they can go about their business, whatever that is."
To learn more about box turtles and the other 15 turtle species found in Missouri, write to MDC, "Missouri's Turtles," P.O. Box 180, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0180, pubstaff@mdc.mo.gov .
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