To the Expositor:
Turtles are crossing roads these days in their travels so drivers please watch out for them. I’ve come across three so far this month. The turtle in the photo is a Blandings turtle along Ketchankookem Trail in Mindemoya. It’s a threatened species and crossing a road is dangerous for a slow-moving turtle. Their numbers are down. They do not breed until they are at least 14-years-old, or even up to 20 years old so it takes a long time for populations to recover even under good circumstances. They need help.
If you spot turtles, you can report your sighting to the Ontario MNR through the Toronto Zoo’s Ontario Turtle Tally at www.torontozoo.com. It will help them estimate how the turtles are doing in Ontario. Friends of Misery Bay also has an “Adopt-a-Turtle” program for research into the mystery of the turtles that were found dead last year at Misery Bay.
Jan McQuay Mindemoya
