Why did the turtle cross the road?

by Elizabeth Winter

Title

Why did the turtle cross the road?

Artist

Elizabeth Winter

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Photograph - Photography

Description

This guy was at the side of the road. We stopped to see if he was okay as he looked as if he had quite a few stories to tell. He didn't seem frightened of us and quickly dismissed us so we left him to cross the road.

Countless turtles are killed or injured on roads during their terrestrial treks. The presence of a large turtle on a busy road can be a safety hazard for motorists. By driving defensively and keeping alert to conditions on the road, motorists should be able to avoid hitting a turtle.

The common snapping turtle is noted for its combative disposition when out of the water with its powerful beak-like jaws, and highly mobile head and neck (hence the specific name serpentina, meaning "snake-like"). In water, they are likely to flee and hide themselves underwater in sediment. Snapping turtles have a life-history strategy characterized by high and variable mortality of embryos and hatchlings, delayed sexual maturity, extended adult longevity, and iteroparity (repeated reproductive events) with low reproductive success per reproductive event. Females, and presumably also males, in more northern populations mature later (at 15–20 years) and at a larger size than in more southern populations (about 12 years). Lifespan in the wild is poorly known, but long-term mark-recapture data from Algonquin Park in Ontario, Canada suggest a maximum age over 100 years.

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September 11th, 2015

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