Conservation Corner: Celebrating scales and shells on World Turtle Day
Most of us have probably heard the symbolic tale of the race between the slow and steady tortoise and the fast, but overconfident, hare. While the lessons at the heart of this fable may serve as good guideposts for human behavior, the unfortunate reality is that many tortoises, terrapins, and turtles around the world have not been able to overcome the similarly methodical pace of habitat alteration that is reducing their populations.
In recognition of this, earlier this week many herpetologists, naturalists, and other turtle enthusiasts celebrated the annual World Turtle Day on May 23rd which was designated almost two decades ago by the nonprofit organization American Tortoise Rescue to bring attention to the global scope of habitat loss and simply to shine a light on the interesting world of these amazing, shelled reptiles.
Ohio is home to a dozen species of turtles which have each responded differently to encroachment by humans into their landscape. Nearly all of them have been impacted by the draining or modification of natural marshes, swamps, and other wetlands, while the primarily terrestrial Eastern Box Turtle saw its preferred habitat of mature woodlands nearly eradicated during the formative years of the state before concerted reforestation efforts led to the reestablishment of timbered acreage to an appreciative degree.
Others, like the Snapping Turtle and Midland Painted Turtle, have responded positively to our love for installing recreational ponds and can be found in nearly any permanent body of water including things like urban stormwater basins and drainage ditches not installed with wildlife in mind. Also, turtles that prefer the flowing waters of our streams and rivers, including the Eastern Spiny Softshell and Northern Map Turtle, have undoubtedly benefitted from increased regulation on water quality, primarily the Clean Water Act of 1972 and the current H2Ohio program designed to reduce pollution to our waterways.
Even where ideal habitat exists, turtles are still put at risk by the intrusion of public roads that bring fast-moving, heavy automobiles cruising by like steamrolling hares. While some turtles are quite agile in the water, their movements on land are generally reduced to a deliberate, plodding march that leaves them vulnerable when they leave the relative safety of aquatic life and try to cross these pavement paths of four-wheeled shell smashers during the mating and nesting season.
One final, and possibly unexpected threat comes in the form of illegal pet trade. Many of Ohio’s turtles are relatively docile and small in size at maturity, both of which are ideal traits for a captive animal. Couple this with low reproductive capability and ease of capture and it doesn’t take long for just a few unscrupulous collectors to clean out an area of its reptile residents. On the other side of this threat is the intentional release of turtles that are no longer wanted by their owners. In Ohio, Red-eared Sliders have expanded their range dramatically because of these introductions and may have disrupt native turtle populations as their own numbers grow.
Despite all this doom and gloom, World Turtle Day should also be a time of celebration of the positive encounters we have. Whether that is finding a box turtle hiding next to a log while out hunting morels, seeing a raft of painted turtles basking on a drifting log, or being startled by the splash of a softshell as it dives for cover off an elevated creek bank as you float by in a canoe.
This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Celebrating scales and shells on World Turtle Day
