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Be on alert for turtles crossing the road: Our native turtles are on the move in May and June seeking sandy areas or loose soil to lay their eggs. In New York, thousands of turtles are killed each year when they are struck by vehicles as they migrate to their nesting areas.
What you can do to help:
- If you see a turtle on the road, please give turtles “a brake”. Slow down to avoid hitting it with your car.
- If you can safely stop your vehicle, please consider moving it to the shoulder on the side of the road in the direction it was facing.
- Picking the turtle up by its tail may frighten or injure it. You can pick up most turtles by the sides of the shell.
- Use caution when moving snapping turtles; either pick her up at the rear of the shell near the tail using two hands, or slide a car mat under the turtle to drag her across the road.
- Please do not take turtles home. All native turtles are protected by law and cannot be kept without a permit. All 11 species of land turtles that are native to New York are declining.
Note to anglers: Here are some tips for what to do if you snag a turtle while fishing.
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I love turtles! They are so special! Yes, watch for them please, especially you zombie drivers out there in la la land! This is the time of year roadkill is at its peak. Some good news I heard just a few days ago from my neighbor who owns a second home in Washington County: She took a drive up there recently and said there were no dead animals on the roads which she attributed to less people driving. Another plus with this pandemic! We should have more pandemics!
Thank you to the DEC for reminding us to slow down for turtles, and help them across the road when we safely can. Also helpful will be DEC and DOT working together to install safe wildlife crossings over and under busy roads where animals are trying to cross. Safe wildlife crossings save wild animal and human lives, and more than pay for themselves over time through reduced vehicle/wildlife collisions.
John Davis, Adirondack Park resident
When do more turtles die from cars – day or night?
To my own self – the only reason I would survive in the woods (bare naked) longer than a turtle would be if I ate the turtle.