May 23 is World Turtle Day

Painted turtle on White Schoolhouse Road

World Turtle Day is celebrated to promote awareness of the importance of helping turtles live and prosper in their natural habitat. One way we can do that is to be on the lookout for turtles crossing roads and help them to safely cross. Being hit by vehicles is one of the major causes of mortality in New York’s turtles, particularly in May and June when they are crossing roads to reach nesting sites.

The NYSDEC suggests the following:

If a motorist sees a turtle on the road, drivers are encouraged to slow down to avoid hitting it with their vehicle. If the vehicle can safely stop, motorists should consider moving the turtle to the shoulder on the side of the road in the direction it was facing. Motorists are advised not to pick turtles up by their tails to avoid injuring the turtle. Most turtles, other than snapping turtles, can be picked up by the sides of their shell. Snapping turtles have necks that can reach a long distance and have a strong bite, so if motorists try to help a snapping turtle, they should pick it up by the rear of the shell near the tail using both hands or slide a car mat under the turtle to drag it safely across the road.

I can assure you from personal experience that trying to help a snapping turtle can be a challenging event, but other turtles are easy to move.