March 23rd is designated as World Turtle Day. A day to not only celebrate the many and varied turtles and tortoises found throughout the world, but also a day of education and awareness. Many species are critically endangered and many more are threatened, and unless human behaviors change, many will be lost to us forever.
One of the most critically imperiled turtles to be found in North America is the Blanding’s Turtle (Emydoidea blandingii), named for William Blanding, a Philadelphia naturalist who first described it. They are found from Ontario, Canada, south to Iowa and back east as far as New York. The highest population densities are found in the Great Lakes region. They are listed as state endangered or a species of special concern in nearly every state they occur. The biggest threat these turtles face is the loss of habitat due to agriculture and from major modifications to streams and rivers, such as dam building. Blanding’s turtles have specific habitat requirements that include marshes, sloughs, ponds, lakes, streams, creeks, and vernal pools with shallow water, soft bottoms and large amounts of aquatic vegetation.
With the draining of these wetlands for agriculture and urban expansion the turtle finds it harder and harder to survive.
Added problems this species faces are cars, predators such as raccoons, foxes, skunks, and even ants. Then we must consider that this species reaches sexual maturity later than most turtles with females reaching sexual maturity between the ages of 14 to 20 years of age and males at about 12 years of age. With all these things combined we can begin to understand how this turtle has suffered such dramatic population declines.
Blanding’s turtles are semi-aquatic basking turtles that may be found in their watery habitats or on land. They leave water when seeking new areas to inhabit or when looking for places to lay their eggs. In the water they are poor to average swimmers and will use the dense aquatic vegetation to support themselves as they move through the water. They are often found floating among the aquatic plants or basking on logs, muskrat mounds and other objects within the water.
Blanding’s turtles are medium-sized turtles with a shell length up to 7 inches, although lengths up to 10 inches have been reported. Males are larger than females, but females have a higher domed shell than males. These turtles are often mistaken for box turtles because of their high domed shells, and the hinge located on the bottom shell. The top portion of their shell is dark in color and may vary from gray to black with small light color spots or small lines in a highly variable pattern, although some specimens lack any markings at all. The bottom portion of the shell is yellow with dark blotches on each scute.
The most distinctive characteristic of this species is the yellow chin and neck. This feature makes identifying them easy as no other turtle in North America has this bright yellow neck and chin. They often look as if they are smiling, which in my opinion gives them an adorable, charming appearance.
This species also has an extremely long neck and are often referred to as long-neck turtles and are lumped in with another long-neck turtle called the Chicken Turtle which is also critically endangered in much of their range.
Mating takes place between April and June when males approach females. Sometime between June and July the female will search for a suitable location on land to lay her eggs. She will dig a shallow hole and deposit 6 to 20 eggs. She may lay up to 2 or 3 clutches in a single season. The eggs incubate for up to 80 days.
The biggest threat to these turtle eggs is predators such as raccoons, and foxes. As many as 85% of the eggs laid by the Blanding’s turtles may fall victim to predation. Ants can also destroy a batch of newly laid eggs, as well as small burrowing rodents like chipmunks. Once the eggs hatch; they are still not out of danger from predation from animals such as foxes, raccoons, skunks, opossums, and large birds like herons and crows. All of these animals and more savor baby turtles. Road fatalities also take a toll on turtle populations. Even a loss of 1 to 2 percent of adult turtles can have long lasting impacts on future generations.
It is common for this species to live more than 50 years and there are reports of specimens exceeding 70 plus years. Their reproductive cycle does not slow down with age; quite the opposite is true. The older, more mature females produce larger clutch sizes and are likely to mate more frequently. The ability of this turtle to live to a ripe old age and to continue to reproduce throughout its life may be the only saving grace for this species.
Blanding’s, like all turtles that occur in colder climates they hibernate during the winter. They will submerge themselves in the water and lay dormant on the bottom in the mud and silt. Their heart rate slows and their bodies become inactive as they wait out the cold weather. In Missouri they may become active again with the first thaw as early as March. During the hottest days of summer they typically stop feeding and once again go dormant in a form of summer-time hibernation known as aestivation. This heat induced inactivity may last a month or more; but will usually end when cooler temperatures return in the early fall. They will start eating again to put on fat reserves that will see them through their long winter hibernation.
Much consideration should be given before land development takes place in areas where known populations of these turtles are located. Some areas have had success with artificial habitats in helping secure areas for this turtle to reproduce and live. As nearly all states provide some sort of protection for this species, anyone planning to alter these habitats should be made responsible for creating alternate areas for these turtles to live.
We all need to appreciate the beauty of these natural areas and recognize that wildlife depend on these wild lands for survival. It would be sad indeed to lose something so unique and beautiful because of greed or lack of knowledge.
