METROWEST DAILY NEWS ; Turtle season crawls across region (Danielle Ameden)

METROWEST DAILY NEWS (Boston, Massachusetts) 13 June 06 Turtle season crawls across region (Danielle Ameden)
Seasonal commuters are jamming up area roads with their slow pace and stubborn nature.
Officials are calling for patience.
Ashland police officers handled one such case yesterday.
"There was a large turtle in the road," said Lt. Scott Rohmer, whose department responded to the scene.
According to Ashland’s animal control officer, Cheryl Rudolph, the turtle was blocking traffic on lower Cedar Street for 10 minutes, but drivers stopped and the turtle was able to cross the street unharmed.
"It’s not unusual to have to deal with this," said Rohmer, adding that the department has responded to several similar situations of snapping turtles blocking or obstructing local roadways.
Biologist Marion Larson with the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife said June is "turtle month," when snapping, spotted, and painted varieties of the aquatic reptiles venture out of their wetland habitats to mate and lay eggs. Often, they end up traversing high-traffic areas, posing a danger to drivers and pedestrians.
Local police and wildlife authorities say the plodding creatures are known to cross roads while on their mission to lay their eggs.
"It’s such a common phenomenon for us," said Larson of MassWildlife in Westborough. "For many people, ’Wow,’ this is the first time they’ve seen anything like this. We often get calls from people saying, ’What do we do?’"
"We’ve been getting calls on them," said Keith Tosi, Natick animal control officer. "It’s that time of year."
Tosi, a 13-year veteran of the department, said residents call in saying they’ve spotted turtles digging around in their yards and mulch beds. "We just explain to the folks that it’s normal," he said.
"Usually (the turtles) do their thing and they’re off and running again."
Larson said the most help pedestrians or motorists can be is to move the turtle from danger’s way, without deterring it.
"If they aren’t hurt, it would be very nice if people slowed up," said Robin Shearer, a receptionist at Tufts Wildlife Clinic in North Grafton.
Shearer suggested pedestrians or motorists help turtles cross roads with a shovel or piece of cardboard.
Larson said turtles can be picked up from the back end of their shell, or pushed gently along. Many people have good intentions of moving the turtle out of harm’s way, she said, but attempting to redirect or relocate a turtle can actually put it in more danger.
"The best thing to do is to help it across the road or whatever dangerous spot," she said.
Shearer agreed, saying to keep the turtle heading in the direction in which it was traveling. "They’re pre-programmed and very stubborn. They will eventually just cross to where they’re going, putting themselves at risk again."
Local authorities advise people to exercise caution when handling the turtles.
"Even though they seem pretty listless, they can snap," Shearer said.
"They have such a hooked, hooked mouth," Larson said. "It’s really important not to mess with the front end of a snapping turtle at all."
"They just want to be left alone," Tosi said.
According to Larson, mother turtles find ideal nesting conditions in sandboxes, vegetable and flower gardens, and mulch piles where their eggs can be buried and protected from the elements during their 60- to 90-day incubation period. The baby turtles hatch on their own and instinctively know where to find food, water and shelter.
Since the start of turtle season at the end of May, two snapping turtles have been rescued by a team of veterinarians at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in North Grafton, Shearer said.
The turtles, one from North Grafton and the other from Concord, were found with shell and jaw trauma. Shearer anticipates many more injured turtles.
According to 2005 season statistics, the clinic saw 31 snappers, 40 painted turtles, four spotted, one wood, and three Blandings.
"We see a lot of cracked shells and head injuries," Shearer said, adding that many turtles at the clinic have more serious injuries.
"Depending on the severity of the fractures, (veterinarians) do have a lot of success in treating them, sealing them over and getting them back to the wild," she said.
A number of turtles with severe shell cracks and internal injuries are put to sleep, although a female turtle’s eggs are able to be harvested and incubated at the clinic.
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