Eco-passages for turtles to cross roads safely aren’t meeting expectations
Scientists recently released the results of a survey on the effectiveness of eco-passages as safe crossings for turtles, tortoises, and other reptiles. Sadly, they haven’t been as effective as hoped. The biggest concern is that turtles don’t use them without guidance forcing them to do so. We’re not surprised by this, as their natural inclination will be to use the routes they are most familiar with and seem shortest. Eco-passages typically require turtles to navigate a more-circuitous route to a specific passage; unless there is fencing to guide them, instinct takes over. Even when there is fencing to guide them, the fence has not held up as well as it should. So, it seems improvements will be made to increase the effectiveness of these eco-passages. The photo above is of the Payne’s Prarie, FL ecopassage. This is one of the better ecopassages; walls are concrete instead of a fence-like structure and can withstand the elements.
Turtle News From Around the World
Conservation
The story of the Bellinger River Snapping Turtle (Myuchelys georgesi) and its sudden battle with an unknown virus moves onto the next phase.
Study finds that probably 1,800 marine turtles were killed last year off the shores of Pakistan.
The best thing you can do if you find a turtle on the beach is to contact officials instead of putting it “back” in the ocean. We can promise that not every turtle you find on the beach is a healthy sea turtle.
Medical/Health
A tortoise gets a “prosthetic” shell. This article describes some of the issues that come with extreme “pyramiding”. Look at the last picture in the gallery to see how bad this tortoise has “pyramiding”.
Miscellaneous
Festivals planned in counties on Florida’s East coast will celebrate sea turtles and the environment. Several organizations will be on hand educating the public on sea turtles and how to get involved with their conservation efforts.
Did You Know…
Most turtle species in the US are estimated to have a 5% death rate from roadkill. In areas with dense and diverse turtle species population, the roadkill death rate is estimated to be at least 10% (Great Lakes, Northeast, Southeast).
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Photo from Lake Jackson Ecopassage Alliance
