It’s hard out there for a turtle.
Assuming they hatch at all — no sure thing when most underground nests are sniffed out and raided by raccoons — baby turtles born in Long Point must complete the arduous journey from their sandy nesting grounds to the marshland.
Along the way they risk being hit by cars, getting roasted on sun-baked asphalt and falling prey to passing predators.
The marshland is no nirvana either, with bullfrogs, birds and water snakes eager to make tasty meals of the tiny turtles.
No wonder most babies don’t make it to their first birthday.
“All it takes is one person on the road to wipe out all that hard work,” said Lauren Nightingale, an animal care specialist for Eco-Kare International who co-ordinates the Long Point Biosphere Region’s turtle hatchery.
“So the ones we’re finding (in the wild) are super lucky.”
Hatchery staff and volunteers take in eggs from vulnerable nests around Long Point and nurture them in incubators. The newly hatched babies are measured and weighed before being returned to nature within a kilometre of their nest.
Last year there were 1,112 hatchlings released into Long Point Bay after spending their first weeks of life inside the hatchery at Long Point Eco-Adventures, outside St. Williams.
“With the one-in-100 survival rate, we maybe got 12 new turtles,” Nightingale said.
That dismal success rate puts all of Ontario’s native turtle species in peril, with several currently listed as endangered.
To help even the long odds, Nightingale led a group of visitors into the marsh on Friday carrying 71 hatchlings — a mix of painted, snapping and Blanding’s turtles — in six plastic totes.
“They’re about to have a very eventful day,” Nightingale said of the baby turtles, which can weigh as little as a few grams.
A turtle’s sex is determined by the heat of the egg during incubation, Nightingale explained, and the incubators at Long Point are kept at a temperature that encourages more females to be born.
“And if you get more females, you get more eggs in the future,” she said.
Participants forged a path through the thick vegetation in search of open water to release the turtles, taking care to space them out so an opportunistic predator could not devour the lot in one gulp.
One by one, the hatchlings quickly found their footing and disappeared under the muck.
Rikki Schertzberg of Jarvis held one of the babies between her fingers, taking a moment to watch the curious reptile flail its legs and tail before setting it down at the water’s edge.
“I never thought about snapping turtles being so small,” said Schertzberg.
“And they’re really strong for how tiny they are,” added her daughter, Zoe Case. “It’s kind of hard to hold them.”
“Yeah, they’re squirming around like crazy,” Schertzberg said.
The two said they now have a better appreciation for how hard turtles have to work just to start their lives.
“That’s crazy to go through all that thick brush,” Schertzberg said.
“You’re doing these babies a favour,” said Patti Moore, a 10-year volunteer with the Road Ecology Working Group, which finds ways to keep wildlife alive in Long Point.
“If they had to walk from their nest to the water, that would be a long walk.”
The rule of thumb when seeing a turtle on the road is to carry it across in the direction it was headed.
“Except for hatchlings,” said Nightingale, explaining how the disoriented youngsters will leave the beach and head for nearby cottages or open water instead of the relative safety of the marsh.
“We don’t think they know where they’re going,” Nightingale laughed.
“Just get them to the marsh. That’s where they need to be.”
Long Point Eco-Adventures
The four remaining guided hatchling release dates planned for this summer at Long Point Eco-Adventures are sold out, but the program will return next summer.
Turtle hatchery co-ordinator Lauren Nightingale will be onsite at the hatchery from 3 to 4 p.m. every day until Sept. 5 to weigh and measure the babies as they leave the incubators. Visitors are welcome to drop by and ask questions. Free admission.
Long Point Eco-Adventures also offers zipline and forest canopy tours, stargazing, mountain biking, hiking trails, glamping and lakeside dining. More info at lpfun.ca.
