Turtle Protector Saves Over 200 Baby Turtles!

July 29, 2015

Check out the full story of Pat and his turtles using the video link below:

VIDEO LINK

Map Turtle Nesting

Article taken from Kingston, ON, Canada / CKWS TV

Published July 07, 2015 06:07 pm

FOR MORE THAN 6 YEARS OVER 200 BABY TURTLES HAVE BEEN PROTECTED AND RELEASED INTO BOB’S LAKE, JUST NORTH OF KINGSTON. IT’S WORK PATRICK GRACE, FROM SOUTH FRONTENAC, HAS BEEN DOING TO HELP CONSERVE THE WILD SPECIES– SOME OF WHICH IN OUR AREA ARE ENDANGERED. NEWSWATCH’S MAEGEN KULCHAR EXPLAINS.

Along this quiet lake in South Frontenac, Patrick Grace is not just known as a resident…he’s also someone who knows a lot about a very slow and potentially at risk reptile.

“Believe it or not, they call me the turtle guy.”

Grace has lived on Bobs Lake for a decade, and for the past 6 years he has been helping preserve turtles like this one.
Between May and September turtles can often be seen trying to cross country roads, searching for a nesting site– and he has put up signs like this, to warn drivers not to hit them. At his home along the lake, he has made it his mission to help protect the species and it’s eggs– by putting up wire cages around nests.

“It bothered me because we kept seeing the eggs dug up and eaten mainly by raccoons.”

After contacting the Toronto Zoo for more information about turtle conservation, Grace became a part of the “Ontario Turtle Tally”– a community based program that keeps track of the turtle population.

“if we don;t protect them…….”

This season Grace is keeping 7 northern map turtle nests safe from predators with these cages.

“You can see the raccoons have tried to dig in underneath the nest protector to get at the eggs.”

The wire is working. These eggs are unharmed…..and in September they will begin to hatch.

“To see the little turtles come out of the nest, they look almost dead and then you put them in water and they just come to life. You end up with 10 or 15 turtles from one nest sometimes all swimming around.”

“In the past 6 years Grace has been able to put over 200 northern map turtle hatchlings and 21 midland painted turtles back into the lake. It’s a job he says he will continue doing for as long as he can.”

“I’m hoping that in the next 6 years I’ll have actual mothers that I’ve put in the lake come back to nest here.”

Grace is just one of many people trying to protect turtles in our region…so reptiles like this don’t become extinct.

Maegen Kulchar CKWS Newswatch Kingston.

If you see a turtle anywhere in Ontario, remember to report your sighting to Ontario Turtle Tally. This citizen science programme collects turtle sightings from volunteers across the province. All the data we collect helps us and our conservation partners to identify where turtles live, and helps guide work to protect turtle habitat! Become a Turtle Tallier today!