Snapping Turtle on a Road Shoulder (photo: Christine Jennings) Ontario has eight native turtle species, seven of which have been listed by both the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) and by the Committee on the Status of Species at Risk in Ontario (COSSARO) as species at risk. Turtles [...]
Turtles and tortoises are among the most endangered group of vertebrate animals in the world: more than half of the 328 known species are threatened with extinction. In Ontario, road mortality is one of the leading threats to turtles - but it is not the only one. Despite being listed as a species of special [...]
More than 10,000 have now signed the Friends of Ontario Snapping Turtles Petition to ban hunting of the species in Ontario. Read more at the Orillia Packet & Times.
Although "turtle season" has wound down and Canadian turtles have gone into hibernation, work for Kate Siena and Dr. Sue Carstairs continues. This winter there will be 191 turtles under care at the Kawartha Turtle Trauma Centre (KTTC). Peterborough's KTTC opened in 2002 and since then has successfully treated and released thousands of turtles back [...]
In this year's annual report the Environmental Commissioner Gord Miller shines a light on the government response statements issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources (on behalf of the Ontario government) under the Endangered Species Act. The statements describe the actions that the government will undertake to recover species listed under the act. In the [...]
Although listed as a species of special concern both federally and provincially, snapping turtles are still legally hunted with an allowable take of up to two snapping turtles per person, per day. Ontario Nature is deeply concerned that a species at risk is legally hunted in this province. Visit their website for more information on [...]
Eco-Kare in cooperation with the Ontario Road Ecology Group and other partners (including KTTC!) is creating an inventory of the approximately 700 turtle crossing signs in Ontario to determine where and how they are placed in the landscape. The project is funded by the 2011 Ministry of Transportation Ontario (MTO) Highway Infrastructure Innovation Funding Program [...]
KTTC veterinarian Dr Carstairs interviewed on Pioneer Radio: Animal Rescue on Pioneer Radio
Every day KTTC volunteer Leslie Burritt drives through Port Perry on her way to and from work. The town is located on the shores of Lake Scugog, and every spring hoards of turtles hoist themselves out of water to lay their eggs on nearby sandy banks. Leslie became concerned about the many turtles she came [...]
Sierra Club Canada has launched acampaign to stop the Terry Fox Extension in Ottawa and save the Blanding'sTurtle.Please visit their website for more info or to sign the petition:http://www.sierraclub.ca/en/endangered-species/save-blandings-turtle?1085152489=1
The Toronto Star published a feature on turtle rehabilitation today! Read the article
One of my personal favourite species of reptile that lives here in our province is the spotted turtle, Clemmys guttata. It’s Canada’s smallest species of turtle, and they’re easily our most beautiful! With bright orange skin, yellow spots on a jet black shell, the cutest little faces, and spunk and personality to spare, they are [...]
