Provide your property with habitat features that are beneficial, such as brush piles, fruiting shrubs and bushes.
Do not take the turtle to a different location just because you may feel it is a better spot. Move the turtle to the side the turtle was heading.
Oxenrider outlines several ways everyday people can help protect West Virginia’s box turtles. For complete wording of the law, see §58CSR73 West Virginia Reptile and Amphibian Rule. “West Virginia Division of Natural Resources biologists have been working hard to better understand the status of box turtles in our state, using citizen science efforts and long-term monitoring to better assess species distribution and abundance, as well as enacting updated regulations to protect West Virginia native amphibian and reptiles, including box turtles.”Įffective March 23, 2021, West Virginia’s reptile and amphibian regulations prohibit the possession of 80 species of reptiles and amphibians. “Unfortunately, box turtle populations in West Virginia have been declining due to increases in road mortality, disease, and over collection,” said Oxenrider. Roads cut through turtle habitat, bringing a rush and crush of automotive and human traffic. WHY ARE THEY AT RISK?Īlthough box turtles prefer a slow-paced, fairly solitary life at home, humans can make that difficult. Researchers have found some individual box turtles remain in their home territory for more than 50 years.
They may travel roughly 50 yards in a day. “Box turtles are found throughout the Mountain State except in the highest elevations of the Mountains.”Īlthough the species is found in a wide range, individual box turtles generally stay close to home. “West Virginia is home to 13 species of turtle, including the box turtle, which is our only fully terrestrial species,” said Oxenrider. The turtles eat fruit, fish, eggs, insects, mushrooms, plants and amphibians. from Maine to Florida, from the Great Lakes to Texas. Woodland box turtles are typically found in the eastern U.S. Woodland box turtles, formerly called eastern box turtles, are a subspecies of the common box turtle. The image for August depicts the turtle’s distinctive high-domed carapace with vivid orange and yellow markings. The DNR 2022 Wildlife Calendar features a box turtle painting by West Virginia artist Anna Dolly. “However, box turtles have been declining throughout their range, and West Virginia is no exception.” WHAT ARE WOODLAND BOX TURTLES? “These data will allow us to better assess the population status in West Virginia,” he said. Oxenrider led the DNR project that enlisted West Virginians as “citizen scientists” tracking sightings of woodland box turtles. “That is part of the reason we have established long-term monitoring sites across the state, as well as solicited participation from the public to contribute observation data.” “We do not have an exact number at this time,” said Kevin Oxenrider, amphibian and reptile program leader, West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR). The International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species lists the woodland box turtle as vulnerable, although scientists do not yet have enough data to say how far the population has fallen. Box turtle numbers have been declining steadily for years. When was the last time you saw a box turtle in the wild?ĭid you, like so many of us, enjoy watching its slow, steady plod through the grass? Were you treated to the sight of a turtle stretching its neck toward low-hanging tomatoes in the garden and snatching a bite with its hooked beak? Have you picked one up to admire closeup, only to have it shut itself away in its protective shell?
0 kommentar(er)
