Four ways you can help save turtles

 

1. Help them across the road. Always take a turtle across the road in the direction it is heading.  Have a secure grip on each side and carry low to the ground. Move a turtle away from traffic, even if it is on the shoulder.

2. Be careful when mowing. Check lawn perimeters and overgrown grass. Mow fields and lawns from the center outwards.

3. Don’t bring them home or relocate them. They are territorial and are not pets. Turtles are very difficult to keep in captivity and often die a slow death. They thrive best in a wild setting. Removing even one adult from its home can devastate an entire population.

4. Only touch a turtle to move it out of harm’s way or if it is injured. If you find one injured or dead, contact a Wildlife Rehabilitator. Turtles have an amazing ability to heal, even from apparently severe injuries.  Sometimes eggs can be retrieved from a dead animal and incubated for release by a trained Wildlife Rehabilitator.