A snapping turtle found its way into a Barlow Mountain Road garage. —Steve Coulter photo
A Barlow Mountain Road man was surprised last week when he found a slow-moving snapping turtle checking out his very fast Porsche 911 GT3.
“I don’t know what car he wants to race,” said Andy Williams, who discovered the turtle with his son Matt. “We definitely caught him in the act though.”
Mr. Williams said they first found the intruder underneath his blue Porsche in the garage, but the turtle had moved slightly closer to the car’s back tire before being pushed out with a broom.
He added he has seen female turtles come onto his property out of nearby Pierrepont Lake, but never one this size.
Mr. Williams believed the one he found snooping around his sports cars was a male, but didn’t turn it over to find out.
“We don’t know how fast he can move or what he can do, so we’re not going to take any chances,” he said. “He was wet when we he first came in; he probably just came out of the pond and was looking for some shade.”
A wildlife biologist from the state’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) said the event was a good reminder for residents to be on the lookout for turtles crossing roads.
“This is pretty interesting because it’s our first call about turtles coming out of the water to lay eggs,” said Jenny Dickson of DEEP. “Usually they come out in late May and early June and search for upland review areas where there are fresh landscaping beds or mulch piles or for sandy soils along roads.
Helping them out
“If you see a turtle crossing the road, then it’s most important you handle traffic safety first, but you also want to make sure you keep the turtle in the direction it was initially heading,” she said. “If you turn it around in the other direction, the turtle will just attempt to cross the road again and that leaves them very vulnerable at this time of the year.”
Ms. Dickson guessed that the turtle found in Mr. Williams’ garage was actually female, and had arrived “purely by accident en route to a better location to lay eggs.”
“It was more than likely walking up the driveway trying to find the right habitat to take care of the job when it hit a dead-end and was caught trying to figure out how to get back out to where it was before,” she said. “In this case, it sounds like the turtle got funneled into the garage and the garage sort of herded the turtle in one direction.”
She added that Mr. Williams and his son did what most people do when they discover snapping turtles on their property — use a broom or shovel to push it in a certain direction.
“The only safe way to move them is from the back end and pick them up closer to their tails because you don’t really know how long their necks are and what they’re going to do if touched,” she said. “Most people are much more comfortable using something to scooch them off rather than pick them up.”
Ms. Dickson added she didn’t believe the turtle had laid any eggs because of the “strange location.”
There weren’t any eggs visible under or next to Mr. Williams’ car Monday afternoon.
“The female turtle is very good at covering up her nest and ensures that it will be protected,” Ms. Dickson said. “One thing we often get asked is how long eggs take to hatch, and it takes about three to four months for eggs to hatch.
“So it’ll be around September when we see the baby turtles making their way back to the pond, depending on weather conditions,” she said.
Early sightings
DEEP responded to more than 100 calls in late May and early June last year, she said.
A large snapping turtle was photographed May 29, 2013, at the intersection of Knollwood and Old Barlow Mountain roads.
Ms. Dickson explained that it was “pretty early” in the season for turtle crossings or hatchings to be reported, especially considering the long winter this year.
“It’s definitely getting to that time of year when turtles cross roads though,” she said. “This one just got started a little bit earlier than the rest.”