What to do when you find a turtle — Turtles Kingston

Step 5: Report your turtle encounters

We encourage you to use the ‘Adopt-A-Pond ‘Turtle Tally’ app or the ‘iNaturalist’ app to REPORT your turtle encounter. These can record the GPS coordinates and display the precise google map location. Details on the importance of reporting your turtle encounters are essential because the data collected gives an accurate profile of their populations. The information can assist in the implementation of mitigation measures (exclusion fencing, eco passages and alternate nesting sites).

NOTE: never share the location of turtles on social media. All turtles are species at risk and unfortunately prone to poaching.

Did you know?

Turtle injury is not limited to car strikes. The Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre turtle hospital treats turtles with injuries due to motorised vehicles, boats, fish hooks, dogs, and humans; we can all keep an eye out for injured turtles at all times! The OTCC had over 1000 admissions of injured turtles in 2020 alone. We hope that educating the public on how to help injured turtles will result in more turtles being saved and treated, and aid the overall population.

Call to Action!

Now that you know how to prepare for turtle rescue, what to have on hand, and how to handle an injured turtle, we need YOU to spread the news. Injured turtles depend on good Samaritans like you to help them survive. By simply sharing posts on the value of saving injured turtles, you can help educate the public. By being prepared to help when you come across an injured turtle and keeping an eye out for them, you can lead by example and effectively help if you do encounter an injured animal. If you would like to contribute even more, you can volunteer as a turtle taxi volunteer – someone who is called upon to drive injured turtles part of the way on their journey to a wildlife rehabilitation centre, when the finder of the turtle is not able to. Take the time to spread the news on how easy it is to help, and advocate for injured turtle rescue and transport!