Community Corner

Snapping Turtle Season Sparks Safety Concerns

Here's what to do if you happen upon a prehistoric traveler.

Snapping turtles, while prehistoric creatures that rate high in the fascinating category, having roamed the earth since the days of the dinosaurs, do not make great pets.

And residents who see snapping turtles setting up a nest in their yard are warned not to try and pick them up or provoke them.

Southold resident Bernie Kettenbeil was shocked to find a snapping turtle in her front yard on Sunday. Luckily, she said, the turtle, which looked prehistoric, laid no eggs. "I had these visions of 20 to 100 baby turtles hatching."

Snapping turtles, she said, can be dangerous. "They can dismember your finger," Kettenbeil said. "They're vicious."

But Karen Testa, Executive Director of the Turtle Rescue of the Hamptons, a not-for-profit organization that launched last year in Jamesport, said snapping turtles get a bad rep.

"Snapping turtles are more shy than most animals that are in the wild," she said. "The problem with their reputations -- of them snapping, is that the public does not leave them alone."

Snapping turtles come out in the spring to lay their eggs, one of the only times, along with mating and to eat, that they leave the water, where they are buried in mud, Testa said.

"When they meet the public is when they get into trouble," Testa said. "That's when cars hit them."

Snapping turtles, Testa said, are not aware of the dangers posed by roads. The turtles, which can live to 80 years old, have been around "hundreds and hundreds of years -- way before any development."

And, unlike other wild animals that will attack when injured, the shy snapping turtles won't lash out unless provoked.

In addition, she added, snapping turtles can't go into their shell to hide,  unlike box turtles, because they have no bottom shell, only a plastron bottom. 

"They're exposed," she said. That's why, when they are laying their eggs, the turtles will snap if disturbed. "Their best defense from danger is to bite because they can't run."

Curious turtle watchers, Testa said, should just leave them alone. "They have a bad reputation because the public is constantly bothering them. We rescued one turtle where a man was holding a chair, pointing it at the turtle, and he was hitting it with a broom, screaming, 'He's dangerous! He's going to attack!'"

The truth is, Testa said, "The turtles are more afraid of us than we are of them. They just want to be left alone to do their deed and leave. They do not want trouble."

Snapping turtles can lay over 40 eggs at a time but usually only about one out fo the 40 lives. The baby turtles are either eaten by birds -- or else, they cannot find their way back to where their mother lives in the water. 

Residents should not pick up the turtles to take home as pets; they need specific environmental conditions and will likely fall sick and die. In addition, Testa said, it is illegal to remove an animal from the wild.  "It's detrimental to the animal," she said.

One myth, Testa said, is that wild turtles carry disease. Only turtles sold illegally through the pet trade carry salmonella and other "infectious" disease, she said. Wild turtles are fine, she added.

If a Good Samaritan sees a turtle trying to cross the road and wants to help, Testa said there are guidelines to follow.

First, motorists should carry a towel and a stick in the car. If a turtle is spotted, the driver should pull over and prod the turtle with the stick to "scoot it along." Never pick up a turtle by the tail, she said -- it can paralyze the turtle, as the tail is an extension of the spine.

Turtles head to the road and street because they are cold after hibernation and they seek warmth, Testa said. Turtles will take their time crossing -- and they sometimes freeze in fear. If a resident wants to pick up a turtle to bring him to safety, they should throw a towel over the turtle and left him up from the back leg holes, she said.

"He may snap because he doesn't want to be touched," she said, but if a towel is used and the turtle is picked up correctly, "he'll never get your hands."

Since the operation opened last year, over 150 turtles have been rescued, rehabilitated, and released, Testa said.

Last year, the group saw approximately 20 snapping turtles -- and this year so far, have saved about five, but the season is young. They receive "a ton of calls" from those who've found turtles but are afraid to move them, in places such as golf courses or back yards, Testa said. 

At the Wildlife Rescue Center of the Hamptons in Hampton Bays, hospital supervisor Staci Earl said they haven't seen any snapping turtles yet this year, because the season has just started. "But we typically get them every year," she said.

Earl has three words for anyone who stumbles upon a prehistoric visitor. "Leave it alone."

Seeking to dispel the myths, Earl said, while snapping turtles can be aggressive while laying their eggs, "they do not go chasing after people and eating people's dogs," she said. "People think they're very aggressive and are going to attack their kids or pets."

Stil, Earl urged caution, because once provoked, snapping turtles can be dangerous. "A nice-sized snapping turtle can take your finger off. They have extremely powerful jaws," she said.

Also, she said, in general, people are not advised to pick up snapping turtles. But if a Good Samaritan wants to help, they should wear thick gloves and beware of their bite, and of the long, sharp nails on their feet; they can scratch with their back feet, she said.

In addition, snapping turtles are climbers that can scale a chain link fence easily, she said.

"And they'll eat anything they come across, dead or alive," Earl said.

To contact Turtle Rescue of the Hamptons, call 631-603-4959.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here