2018 Season Review
Spring is now here! Turtles have been hibernating on river bottoms for the last few weeks of winter, and we won’t see them on our roads until May. This is the ideal time to look back over the reports, and we thank you for your invaluable contribution to the protection of turtles in Quebec.
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Common map turtle in its natural habitat, Montérégie
(Carapace, 2018)
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2018: a success!
During the 2018 season, 1,664 turtles were reported on the carapace.ca. In all, 2,759 turtles have been recorded since the official launch of the platform two years ago, in 14 of the 17 administrative regions of Quebec, as well as in Ontario and New Brunswick.
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Species observed
Of the eight turtle species present in Quebec, six have been observed and reported. The two species not reported in 2018 are spiny softshell turtle, a very rare species in Quebec, and spotted turtle, a species that was last seen several decades ago.
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June: an active month for observation
From spring to fall, the distribution of observations on the carapace.ca platform represents what experts know about turtles. The peak in the number of reports in June corresponds to the egg-laying period. This is the period in which females move around to find a nest, and why June is the most fatal month for deaths and injuries.
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Pet store turtles in the wild
Several pet store turtles have been reported on the carapace platform, such as red-eared slider and Eastern box turtle. These exotic species come from breeding farms in the southern United States or countries with warm climates.
Pet store turtles should never be released into the wild because they are non-native and can threaten the survival of our Quebec turtles (Éco-Nature, 2013). Anyone owning an exotic turtle who wishes to dispose of it should contact a pet store, veterinarian or local SPCA.
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Why should you help to protect turtles?
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Fatality hot spot
We will analyze the data collected over the coming months to identify hot spots for turtle road deaths throughout Quebec. Work can then be done to reduce fatal collisions with turtles.
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Your participation is an asset for conservation!
Thanks to your participation, which helped share the carapace.ca platform across Quebec, we were able to collect almost twice as much data in 2018 as in 2017. These observations make a significant difference in putting concrete actions into place for the protection of turtles in Quebec. Please continue to help us promote the platform this spring!
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Distribution of road mortalities
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The majority of turtles observed in 2018 were alive (93 per cent), a figure that is consistent with 2017 (92 per cent). Only 120 dead or injured turtles were found throughout Quebec in 2018. Of these dead or injured turtles, 81 per cent were found on roads.
We can see that some road sections are problematic for turtles: Highway 148 in the Outaouais region, Highway 327 in the Laurentians and Highway 233 along the Richelieu River in Montérégie, as several dead or injured turtles have been identified here.
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Solutions for the risk of road collisions
- Several solutions exist to lessen the frequency of vehicle-turtle collisions. Solutions include installing a bridge or tunnel across a busy road, building a fence to divert turtles’ movement and installing sand or gravel banks to keep turtles away from the shoulder of roads during egg laying.
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- The simplest and most affordable solution for road administrators remains the installation of road signs in turtle-frequented areas. If motorists are attentive to road signs, they can safely slow down in areas identified as wildlife corridors and be able to react in time to avoid a turtle without putting other drivers at risk.
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Invitation to Outaouais residents
- During the first week of May, the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) will be offering training to the public in the Gatineau and Pontiac areas. You will have the opportunity to learn more about Quebec’s turtles as well as how to contribute to turtle conservation efforts in the region. Starting in April, visit our Conservation Volunteers page to register for one of these events.
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About the Nature Conservancy of Canada
The Nature Conservancy of Canada is Canada’s leading not-for-profit private land conservation organization, working to protect our most important natural areas and the species they sustain. Since 1962, NCC and its partners have helped to protect 2.8 million acres (more than 1.1 million hectares), coast to coast, including 111,197 acres (45,000 hectares) in Quebec. To learn more, visit natureconservancy.ca.
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