Turtle Protectors

According to Reptile & Amphibian Conservation Ontario Reptile & Amphibian Conservation the first sighting on a nesting turtle happened on May 27 in Essex County.

You can be a turtle protector by patrolling your local park and the nearby roads looking for turtles on land and calling our hotline 647-491-4057 when you see one!

We officially steward the following parks:
Biidaasige
Colonel Sam Smith
Don Valley Brick Works
Etienne Brule
King's Mill
High Park
Home Smith
Humber Bay
Rennie
Smythe
Woodbine

Miigwetch to everyone who commits to doing what you can to support turtles this nesting season!

Turtles are on the move!!! In the last two days, we've had adult turtles leaving water at Colonel Sam Smith, High Park and Smythe and hatchlings too! The one featured here was spotted by a park goer at Sunnyside Park.

If you see a turtle or hatchling on land in your local park please call our hotline at 647-491-4057.

If they are trying to cross or road or busy path and IT IS SAFE for you, please help turtle across in the direction they are travelling NOT the direction you think they should go.

To pick up a turtle please grab them firmly (think a sandwich you don't want to drop) between their front and back legs. DO NOT PICK UP A TURTLE BY THEIR TAIL. THEIR TAIL IS PART OF THEIR SPINE SO YOU COULD CAUSE SEVERE INJURY.
Check out our short YouTube video to get a sense of what this looks like, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbS9RgpO-Qo

Miigwetch to Sharon Freeman for capturing the Snapping Turtle on land at Colonel Sam Smith! Turtle was so lucky to have you there to ensure they were safe!

This Midland Painted Turtle was found on May 4, the first day of our turtle population study at Don Valley Brick Works Park. The fishing hook seems to have gone through her mouth into her eye which led to an eye infection. She is currently receiving care .

What makes this so cruel is that it looks like the line was cut.

Please don't fish in places where you can visibly see lots of turtles, places like Don Valley Brick Work Park. Turtles literally have no where to go. The city of Kingston, recently passed a bylaw to protect their turtle residents "9.13 No person will fish or engage in fishing-related activities within a designated turtle habitat area".

If you choose to fish please bring a large bin so that if you catch a turtle you are able to reel them in and contain them.

Once contained, please call us at 647-491-4057 or Toronto Wildlife Centre (TWC) and we'll ensure turtle receives medical attention. You will not get in trouble for calling. We will thank you for calling.

If the hook comes out, please don't assume they don't need medical care. Last year, we had a Painted Turtle who managed to remove a hook on her own on the way to TWC and she still needed 10 days of treatment for the hook injury.

If you see anyone who catches a turtle, please call us and we can walk you through a rescue.

This turtle is back in Grenadier Pond thanks to her remarkable healing capacity, a collective effort and a whole lot of luck.

Recap, homeowner called our hotline to report a dead turtle on April 16; turtle had been in lying with her feet splayed sky ward for almost 24 hours. We arrived on scene and placed her in a bin right side up. No movement, no sounds.

Turtle was brought to where Joanna, technician, "heard a gasp". Turtles can release gas for days after their death but she was sure this turtle was alive. So we sent turtle to to be assessed.

Turtles can slow their heartbeat and metabolism when they are sick or injured. Slow means one heart beat every ten minutes!!! (not a typo) This ability means that they can survive injuries that most animals cannot. It also means they can appear dead.

Toronto Wildlife Centre, warmed up turtle for 24 hours. If a turtle is alive the warmth speeds up their heartbeat. On the morning of April 18, after being warmed up overnight, TWC Veterinarian, detected a gentle heartbeat with a device called a Doppler. Turtle was officially ALIVE!!!!!

She received antibiotics and excellent care and fully recovered !! She was returned to the pond, on May 21.

So if you see a turtle who looks unwell or dead, please call us. Remember it takes decades to even have the chance to replace the loss of one adult turtle AND adults are the key to population stability.

Miigwetch to for capturing the release and sharing her photos. To read the full story with all of the details, https://www.greenergood.news/p/96b888f1-593b-4617-a3ff-367c03fc0d54

Conservation work is tricky. While there are some very clear regulations to protect our animal kin, a lot of time you find yourself in a situation where you have to lean into your experience and your gut instinct.

On April 19, Malik, a Turtle Protector volunteer, noticed this Snapping Turtle hadn't moved throughout his shift so he called our hotline. Soon after, Leah and Adore were on scene with a dip net and a bin. Turtle was easy to catch but once he was placed in the bin he started to respond which made them pause for a moment. In the end, they trusted their gut and brought him to for an assessment.

Our volunteer's intuition was spot on. This Snapping Turtle was cold stunned, had signs of sepsis and an eye infection. After a course of antibiotics and a full month of excellent care, turtle made their way back to Grenadier Pond.

Adult turtles are critical for maintaining turtle population stability. The loss of just one can have devastating effects for decades.

If you see a turtle that doesn't seem to be acting like you would expect and your instinct tells you something isn't quite right call us at 647-491-4057.

Miigwetch to Leah Hladkyj from for sharing her stunning photos of the release.

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We are hiring Indigenous in-the-field Turtle Protectors for nesting season. Please submit a cover letter and resume by email to: [email protected]

Indigenous in-the -field Turtle Protector Job Description:

Contribute to Turtle Conservation in Toronto by:

* monitoring roads surrounding parks for turtles and helping them cross in the direction of travel
* scouting Toronto Parks for nesting mamas and supporting them by helping park visitors stay two car lengths away
* placing nest protectors over successful nests and recording data
* engaging the public

We are looking for folks who:

* are willing and able to work long hours - turtle nesting season is short and intense
* are willing to work in all kinds of weather (rain and heat - definitely not lightening though!!)
* are willing and able to travel to different Toronto Parks based on need
* are willing and able to start some shifts as early at 6:00 am
* are willing and able to engage Toronto Park visitors with some turtle facts

Compensation: $19/hour, 280 hours, total contract $5320, start date ideally May 25, end date, ideally July 15.

Please send cover letter and resume to [email protected] by May 21 at 11:59 pm. Interviews will happen on a rolling basis so apply as soon as you can!

Miigwetch!!!

The Deaf and Hard of Hearing students from know that building nest protectors for turtle nests in Toronto Parks is a tangible way to contribute to turtle conservation. They remind us that there are so many ways to be turtle protectors.

If you have woodworking skills or are a woodworking teacher and are willing to build us nest protectors please send us an email: [email protected], subject: Nest Protectors, and we can arrange to have the supplies delivered to you.

has building instructions on their website:
https://ontarioturtle.ca/get-involved/turtle-nests-and-nest-protection/

Less than 1% of all eggs laid will make it to adulthood. Nest protectors improves those odds.

A whole hearted miigwetch to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students from for building us 5 nest protectors, to your teacher Nicci for having the idea and to the woodworking teacher for seeing it through. You show that we can all be turtle protectors

Nesting season is almost here (late May to mid-July)! We need more volunteers so that we can protect adult turtles while they nest and navigate parks and roads. We are especially looking for volunteers in the following parks:

Biidaasige
Colonel Sam Smith
Don Valley Brick Works
Etienne Brule/King's Mill
Humber Bay
Smythe
Woodbine

If you are interested join our info sessions on May 11 or May 14

To learn more visit:
https://turtleprotectors.com/events

More volunteers means that we can protect more turtles.

Find us today, May 5, from 12:30 - 3:30 PM at Don Valley Brick Works Park. We'll be animating the turtle population study being conducted by York University under the supervision of Dr. Suzanne MacDonald.

Stop by to learn more about turtles, the threats they face and how you can become a turtle protector.

We requested this study for two reasons:
1) We want to know who lives in Toronto Parks waters and in what numbers so that we best advocate for them
2) 10 years from now when the study is repeated, we'l learn how our conservation efforts are impacting the population

All turtles captured are given a health check, then they are weighed and measured, and finally they are notched and released. So far the health checks have found fishing hooks in two turtles who were transported to to receive care.

Miigwetch to City of Toronto Animal Services & MITACS for funding the population study and to TD Friends of the Environment Foundation for supporting our animation!

Look down for Painted Turtle hatchlings! They have been underground for 11 months! These photos show you all the steps it takes for them to get to this moment.

If you're curious about what life is like for hatchlings who decide to overwinter in the nest, check out this short video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fp76wKRJFs4

If you want to learn more about our work, please listen to this piece created by Hadyn Watters and featured on CBC Metro Morning.
https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-39-metro-morning/clip/16210492-protecting-tiny-turtles-high-park

This is truly a remarkable story - please read it and share it with a friend - it may save turtle lives. It speaks to turtles' remarkable ability to sustain life in situations where other living beings could not.

On April 14, we received a call from a homeowner whose backyard borders Grenadier Pond. Knowing that we ask people to call us about sick, injured or deceased turtles , they called to let us know that they had found a deceased turtle (they found turtle in this position). We always share that only a veterinarian can determine if a turtle is deceased using a device called a Doppler but when we arrived on scene, turtle was unmoving, turtle had been in the same position for 24 hours, and turtle did not move or make a sound when we placed them right side up in our bin so we were sure that this turtle was dead.

We received the call in the evening so was closed. Assuming turtle was dead, we placed the bin in a cellar and brought them to Toronto Animal Services the next day, April 15. The very observant Veterinarian Technician at Toronto Animal Services said that they heard turtle make a sound when they moved the bin into the back. Given that Animal Services didn't have a Doppler they recommended that we transport turtle to just to be sure.

When Turtle arrived at Toronto Wildlife Centre, they appeared dead even to their very trained eyes but to be sure they placed turtle on a heating pad overnight. You see when turtles are injured they lower their heart rate - their heart can beat as little as 1 beat per 10 minute so without being warmed up it's possible that a Veterinarian might use the Doppler and miss the beat. Once warmed, their heart beats faster. On April 16, after being warmed up overnight, turtle had a heartbeat!!!!!

To be clear - turtle was determined alive after being considered dead for 48 hours.

Currently they are receiving care at Toronto Wildlife Centre.

Miigwetch to homeowner, Toronto Animal Services and Toronto Wildlife Centre. Together you gave this turtle a chance and every turtle is so important.