By Leora Berman

Turtles, especially Ontario’s common snapping turtles, are often misunderstood and their importance to our health, wealth and overall wellbeing is very much underestimated.

Turtles are known as keystone species; meaning that they are the foundation of food webs, holding up entire ecosystems- in a sense they can be considered founders of aquatic habitats. They are also active agents in supporting lake health. The unique roles and behaviours of turtles, cannot be replicated or replaced.

Juvenile turtles scour lakes looking for protein, and will choose sources that are easy to access. This ready bounty is mainly in the form of carrion. They will “clean up” all the dead pollywogs, frogs and fish that did not survive the winter, and have also been known to consume carcasses of other unfortunates including beaver or even moose that have somehow reached their “end” in the lake- and of all the turtles, the snapping turtle, is the best janitor for our lakes. Therefore, turtles, but especially snapping turtles, remove sources of bacteria and pathogens that, if otherwise left to remain, would result in “swimmers itch” for those taking a plunge, intestinal problems for those relying on lake water for drinking supplies, or other difficulties for both Lakeland residents and resident wildlife.

  
Juvenile Blanding's Turtle and Turtle Guardian Volunteer (Photo: Turtle Guardians)

Fun fact: in Europe, snapping turtles have been used to find bog people- people who have haplessly fallen through the layers of sphagnum moss atop boggy wetlands, and sunk into the dark acidic depths to have met their demise, only to then be “pickled” in the process.  To search out these calamities, a gentle lead is fastened to a snapping turtle who then sniffs out the bodies, directing divers to the source of interest.

When turtles age, they require less protein and will forage mainly on vegetation and seeds. And then, as they journey between habitats within their territory from mating areas, to feeding areas, to nest sites, and eventually to hibernation sites, the turtles spread these seeds (that are now ready to germinate thanks to processes during digestion) and the seeds grow to renew wetlands and shorelands, which in turn are essential habitats supporting about 70% of Ontario’s fish and wildlife; from fish nurseries to forage areas for frogs, waterfowl and even moose. The cycle is then begun again as the plants that take root in these places thanks to the turtles, then also help to filter water for everyone’s benefit, and foster fish and wildlife, including turtles. Turtles are therefore custodians of this cycle.  Therefore, without turtles, or sufficient numbers of turtles in an area, entire food webs and ecosystems will deteriorate towards major malfunction. Turtles are also found in almost all places on the earth, except the south pole. And turtles, globally, are at risk of extinction.

What is more marvelous, beyond the services that turtles provide, is the mysterious maneuvering that turtles do. They know where they were born and they know where they are going: Turtles make a mental map of their territories when they are very young, beginning with their nest sites, they index spaces as they roam and explore. Between hatch-out to approximately 3 years of age turtles are imprinting feeding grounds, travel routes, mating sites, and hibernation locations, effectively mapping out an entire territory. This territory can be as big as 20km square for larger species and as small as 2km square for smaller turtles. And once imprinted, these places are etched in their memory, which is incredible, as they will return to hibernation sites within 1 metre of the previous year and cross roads taking the same pathways to nest sites or feeding areas, rarely veering more than 15km off course (Brookes).

Beyond an ingenious mind map, turtles also have incredible ways to navigate from one site to another within their territories. Studies have shown that turtles will use the sun as a clock to find east and west, while magnetite, a mineral that is found in sea turtles’ brains, and which may also be found in Ontario’s turtles effectively makes a turtle into a walking compass as it allows them to find magnetic north. Other studies show that turtles may have a unique chemical in their eyes and a unique sensor in their ears where they can see or sense earth magnetics and therefore discern north from south etc. Amazing!

If that is not astounding enough, these facts may inspire you: They can hold their breath for 45 minutes and in the winter, they can breathe through their nodes in their butts as they bruminate (awake and slowly moving under the ice). Their hearts also beat only a few times a minute when in this state. Many species can rotate their eyeballs to see front and side and have exceptional sight. They can regrow nerve tissue which helps them heal from major trauma. They cry when injured. They call to each other in their nests to tell each other when to emerge. Turtle’s hearts will beat for approximately four days after they are brain dead. And according to Indigenous teachings they are a testament to the Creator’s love for humanity by transmitting the sacred Seven Grandfather teachings to us and as walking evidence of creation; where the snapping turtle was alive in the exact form as it is in today, during the Cretaceous period 50M years ago; also their physiology is illuminating, where each hard shell turtle species in north America has 13 main scutes on their top shell for each of the 13 moons in the year and 28 ridges between the terminal scutes which reflect the 28 days between each moon.