Conservation Department asks motorists to spare box turtles – Automobiles may threaten this long-lived species.
I caught this article in the Republic Monitor and it answers a number of questions I’ve always had.
Box turtles live a long time, and females continue laying eggs for most of their lives. They need lots of time to replace themselves, since snakes, raccoons, opossums and other nest predators eat most of their eggs. Before roads crisscrossed their habitat a low reproductive rate was no big deal. Animals that continue laying eggs past 60 years of age can afford to take their time replacing themselves. But the unnatural mortality caused by speeding cars is a problem.
To help, Briggler suggests that motorists slow down when they see a turtle in the road and check to be sure they can safely steer around it. If traffic and road conditions permit, motorists can pull their vehicles off the roadway and carry turtles to the other side of the road and place them at least 15 feet beyond the pavement, facing away from the road.
Poor little guys! Ill be sure to stop next time I see one on the road!