Nature Conservancy of Canada seeks public assistance to protect turtles in the Pontiac

Nature Conservancy of Canada seeks public assistance to protect turtles in the Pontiac

The Nature Conservancy of Canada invites locals to take a photo and report the turtles you may encounter in the Pontiac.

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, this is a normal spring for turtles. Launched in 2016 in the Outaouais region, the Carapace.ca website makes it possible to target areas where road turtle mortality is high by appealing to people living near the environments of these reptiles. To participate, simply take a picture of the turtle, note where it is, whether it is healthy, injured or dead, and fill out a short website survey, no matter where you are as long as you have access to an internet connection.

During the months of May to October, turtles move for various reasons: feeding, changing habitat, finding a partner to mate or laying eggs. When crossing roads or terrestrial environments, they are very vulnerable to collisions and disturbances. 10% of the observations on the Website report dead or injured turtles.

Five species of turtles in the province are designated as threatened or vulnerable under the Loi sur les espèces menacées ou vulnérables (LEMV) of the government of Quebec: the Wood Turtle, the Common Map Turtle, the Spotted Turtle, the Blanding’s Turtle and Musk Turtle.

The Website data from carapace.ca :
– 4,218 turtle sightings
– 2,555 observers
– 404 sightings of dead or injured turtles
– 70 road mortality hot spots identified include 33 in the Outaouais, 13 in the Laurentides, and 12 in Montérégie.