Conservation authority works to save endangered spiny soft shell turtle
It’s an all-out effort to rescue one of southern Ontario’s most endangered species.
The eastern spiny soft shell turtle is at imminent risk of extinction, but staff from the St. Clair Region Conservation Authority (SCRCA) have been busy with a capture and release program along the Sydenham River, which runs through Lambton and part of Middlesex County.
“I think they're just considering their options trying to find the perfect spot, and they'll probably be back later in the day,” said Sarah Snetsinger, a watershed biologist with the SCRCA. She was sitting on a hill, observing female turtles along the riverbank.
“They're always looking for that really gravelly, sandy place to lay their eggs where it's not too steep. The spot here is pretty flat, kind of like a beach,” she said.
Sarah Snetsinger, a watershed biologist with the St. Clair Region Conservation Authority on June 1, 2022. (Bryan Bicknell/CTV News London)Staff from the SCRCA have been busy keeping close watch on select locations along the river.
Director of Biology Erin Carrol said they’re waiting for the turtles to lay eggs, which they will collect, then take to a lab for incubation.
“When I release those hatchlings that I've collected I know that they had no chance of survival without intervention, like next to none,” Carrol explained. “In the wild they would have been predated by raccoons or other mammals, so for me it gives me a great deal of personal fulfillment to be able to give them a little bit of a helping chance.”
It's estimated that there are only about 1,000 adult members of the species left in all of Canada. The Sydenham River is one of only a few places in Ontario where eastern spiny softshell turtle is known to nest.
The ‘Captive Hatch and Release’ program is part of the SCRCA’s recovery efforts for the species.
“There's quite a few different threats that are affecting the species, from habitat degradation, so loss of that habitat that they need to survive, as well as poaching,” said Kelli Smith, a watershed biologist with the SCRCA.
Smith said the rare turtles have been illegally collected for the pet trade, or even eaten as a delicacy — which is why they’ve asked CTV News not to disclose the location of this nesting site.
The turtles will lay eggs throughout the month of June. Incubation in the lab lasts about 60 days, before they’re sent back into the wild to fend for themselves.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.