Posted on: 2017-05-01 13:59:30

Turtles have many reasons to cross the road
IBackground photo by Donald Lee Pardue @ Flickr; Used under license CC-BY-2.0

No that’s not the beginning of a joke.

In fact, turtles crossing the road is serious business. They have things to do, places to be.

It’s also dangerous business. These guys are pretty oblivious to the huge hunks of metal bearing down on them. Sadly, sometimes drivers are oblivious to the turtles, too.

You can find turtles crossing the road at any time of year (unless they’re hibernating, of course!).

But they’re especially active in spring. They’ve just come out of hibernation and they’re busy getting on with life.

Reasons Turtles Enter Roads

Box turtles and other turtles don’t really recognize the concept of “road.” They’re turtles after all!

All they know is they need to get somewhere, and it’s over there. It’s across that smooth, dark surface with the big, fast-moving creatures.

Why do they need to get over there? Any number of reasons, especially in spring:

• Young males need to find territory to claim as their own.
• Males in general want to find females to mate with.
• Females want to find a good nesting place to lay their eggs.

In the fall they’re all looking for good spots to spend the winter hibernating.

Roads also absorb heat, so they make nice basking spots on cool days. If you see a turtle just sitting there, that may be what it’s doing.

But Why Can’t Turtles Just Stay on One Side of the Road?

Again, they’re turtles. They don’t understand roads or the danger cars pose.

Most turtle activities are instinct. Finding food, mates, hiding spots, etc. These are things they just do about the same time every year.

They also often follow a similar route to these things every year.

And remember, some turtles can live to be 100 or more years old. They may have been there long before the road!

So, just because humans came along and built a road (or two, or ten), the turtles aren’t going to suddenly find new routes.

They’re going to follow the same routes they’ve followed every spring for years or decades.

So really, we’re the invaders into their territory. We should be considerate and help them get safely across the death traps we built in their homes.