It’s the time of year when we’re sharing the road with a lot of slow-moving things–that tempt some of us to get out and help them. Turtles.
They’ve been asleep all winter. About now they wake up and they starting thinking of food and girl turtles. The conservation department’s Jim Low says it’s okay to help them across the road as long as you don’t put yourself and other motorists in danger.
He says most turtles don’t wander too far from home. Occasionally, though, one takes off and can travel a good distance.
Low says it’s important that people who help turtles cross the road put them down pointed in the direction they were going so they don’t go back across the road. And he says turtles do not do well if they’re taken home. It’s okay for a day or two, he says, but they should be taken back to the place where they were picked up so they don’t become disoriented.
Most of the turtles we see on our roads are three-toed box turtles although the ornate box turtle shows up more in the north and west parts of the state. And he says we’ll also see some common snapping turtles.
Although the turtle travel season might reach its peak in a month or two, we’ll be seeing turtles on our roads into September or October.
