MORNING SENTINEL (Waterville, Maine) ;Trouble for turtles (Dave Sherwood)

MORNING SENTINEL (Waterville, Maine) 03 June 06 Trouble for turtles (Dave Sherwood)
Rob Johnston and Janika Eckert saw something alongside the Garland Road in Winslow last year they'll never forget.
A large snapping turtle had been struck by a vehicle. Its shell was cracked, and it was clearly dead.
Most alarmingly, it was far enough off the road that Johnston is convinced the driver would have had to swerve off the pavement to hit it.
Just the thought made the husband and wife cringe.
Intentional or not, automobiles are threatening the very existence of turtles in Maine.
"Road mortality is probably the greatest threat to the survival of turtles in Maine," said Philip DeMaynadier, endangered species specialist for the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
The turtle Johnston and Eckert found measured 13 inches across its back, and may have been 50 years old, or more.
Two weeks later Eckert, while on a bike ride in the neighborhood, noticed two small humps in the gravel beside the spot where they had found the turtle.
"We realized she probably had a chance to lay eggs before she died," she said.
For the next three months, Eckert and Johnston, who live in Albion, would revisit the site, looking for any sign of hatchlings or activity.
One day in early fall, she noticed two small holes in the gravel humps -- likely dug out by the baby turtles as they made their escape into a nearby stream.
"It was really a life-changing event for both of us," said Eckert.
There are seven species of turtles in Maine. All but two -- the common snapping turtle and the the painted turtle -- are threatened. The others -- Blandings, spotted, Eastern box, wood, and common musk, are rare, and largely limited to southern Maine.
Loss of habitat and encounters with vehicles are the primary threats to their survival, according to DeMaynadier.
In 2002, concern for turtles led department biologists to close the commercial harvest of snapping turtles in the face of an almost insatiable demand for turtle meat in southeast Asia.
"We didn't have good population numbers on the species, and so we elected to take the conservative route," said DeMaynadier.
Overall, he said, snapping turtles are better off than most other species of turtles. Biologists consider them "habitat generalists," making use of ponds, marshes, bogs, slow-moving streams and rivers, and man-made impoundments. They also tend to wander less than other turtles, instead choosing a single body of water to spend most of their lives.
But early to mid-June is peak egg-laying season for female snapping turtles, that leave the water and wander nearby woods to look for nesting sites as soon as the weather warms in early summer.
"They're hardwired. This is something they've been doing for millions of years. They go out looking for nesting sites, and sometimes that takes them across roads," he said.
To make matters worse, female turtles often seek out roads for nesting.
"Road shoulders have loose, gravelly soil, and are usually out in the open, without a forest canopy. That really defines the ideal nesting site for a snapping turtle," said DeMaynadier.
It's a fundamental flaw in a battle plan that was developed millions of years ago by turtles, long before the invention of the automobile.
"In many cases, these turtles are crossing roads on migratory paths they had been taking long before these roads even existed," DeMaynadier said. The occasional road kill is standard for almost any species of bird or animal in Maine, but DeMaynadier said when it comes to snapping turtles, every one counts.
Turtles often live 50 years or more, and don't reach sexual maturity until they are almost 20 years old. They lay between 20 and 40 eggs a year, and often, entire clutches are destroyed or eaten by dogs, raccoons, fox, coyote, skunks and insects.
"Their whole strategy is to breed every year and replace themselves with just one or two successful hatchlings in their entire lifespan," said DeMaynadier. That often means that just one or two of more than 1,000 turtle eggs will survive over the creature's lifespan.
Thanks to an impenetrable shell, snapping turtles have no natural predators, so their survival strategy has remained unchanged over millions of years -- until now.
"What short circuits their whole evolutionary strategy is the new predator against which the shell is of no use -- car tires," DeMaynadier.
This year, Johnston and Eckert had another turtle experience. This one, though, had a happy ending. Last week, Johnston went out for a long-distance bike ride from his home in Albion. His route took him over the new Route 3 bridge in Augusta.
When he got to the west side of the bridge, he noticed a big, female snapping turtle -- larger than the one he'd seen last year -- motionless at the base of a 20-foot manmade gravel embankment beside the road.
Twenty-five miles from home and on a bike, he had no choice but to leave the snapper there, in the face of oncoming traffic and beside the insurmountable cliff.
When Johnston returned home, he told his wife about the turtle. They returned that night to find it in nearly the same spot. They brought it to Avian Wildlife Haven, a rehabilitation center in Freedom.
Owner Marc Payne received the turtle, placed it in a tub of water, and that week, dropped it off in Bangor, in a safe location where it would be free to migrate and lay eggs without fear of cars.
"It's not always the best solution, but in this case that turtle would have been playing Russian roulette every time it went to cross that new road. It'd probably been taking that route for years, and probably would have kept trying," he said.
Payne sees 20 or so turtles a year at the center. He said the biggest problem snapping turtles face is a lack of understanding among humans. He's seen snapping turtles stabbed by fearful fishermen, shells cut by lawnmowers. He'd also heard horror stories of people purposely running them over in cars.
According to DeMaynadier, snapping turtles are mostly harmless. They are omnivores, meaning they eat both meat and vegetable matter, but studies show that most of their diet consists of grasses. They're also docile, particularly in water, said Payne, who's worked with them for most of his career.
"They snap out of water only because it's the only defense they have," he said.
In all other respects, they are creatures as native to Maine as brook trout and chickadees.
"They're a primitive animal that has just become victim of our modern influence on their habitat. To me, they're a metaphor, an example of nature being disregarded. But they are really a magnificent creature," said Johnston.
Turtle Facts
Snapping turtles are reptiles, meaning they draw warmth from their surrounding environment.
Snapping turtles need fixed bodies of water to survive, but can live without water for 2 weeks.
The sex of hatchling snapping turtles is determined by the temperature of the soil in which they are incubated. Hotter temperatures mean more females, cooler temperatures lead to more males.
Snapping turtle meat is considered a delicacy in China and other Asian countries.
The commercial harvest of snapping turtles ended in 2002 in Maine, but snapping turtles may still be harvested for personal use.
Turtles are scavengers, and bottom feeders, and biologists caution that they accumulate heavy metals and toxins in their organs and fat.
Some scientists estimate that it takes 3,000 to 6,000 eggs over a lifetime for a turtle to replace itself
Turtle Crossing Tips
Be on the lookout when driving for snapping turtles crossing roads in low, wet spots from dawn to noon, then again in the evening.
If you see a snapping turtle crossing the road and wish to help, always herd it in the direction it is traveling, never turn it back. They always have a destination in mind.
If you need to move a snapping turtle quickly, pick it up by the back of the carapace, holding the head away from you. You may also throw a towel over its head while handling for safety.
Never hold a snapping turtle by the tail.
If you find an injured snapping turtle along the road, call the Avian Wildlife Haven at 382-6761 or see the web at:www.avian haven.org
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