12/10/2023 0 Comments Pond slider![]() Baby turtles make easy prey for a whole variety of predators from raccoons and skunks to crows and even bullfrogs.Saving baby turtles, all in a day’s work for us here at National Wildlife Federation! Here are eight tips for helping out turtle hatchlings in and around your own yard: Here’s the nest-protector basket cage: Turtle nest protector cage. Female turtles do not care for their young, which are fully equipped to hunt and forage for themselves. ![]() After that, they are on their own, just as they otherwise would be in nature. The wire basket bars are wide enough apart that tiny hatchling box turtles will easily be able to fit between them. This basket cage should keep foraging mammals from being able to dig into the nest and also protect the babies as they emerge. So Ellen contacted National Wildlife Federation’s building manager Steve Johnsen, and together they came up with a solution: they placed a wire basket over top of the nest area and weighted it down with a heavy rock. Recognizing that predators need to eat too and that we try not to interfere in nature, but also that box turtles are on the decline due to habitat loss, while raccoons, skunks, and opossums aren’t, it was decided that helping out in this instance would be okay. Since many turtle nests are predated by such generalist mammalian predators, she was worried the eggs wouldn’t stand a chance. August is baby turtle season!Įllen noted that the spot the box turtle chose to dig her nest was in an exposed area not too far from the dumpsters in our parking lot, which is regularly patrolled by raccoons, skunks, and opossums looking for a free meal. This is a natural event that will be happening across the country for many turtle species. I’m posting this now because very soon, those baby turtles will be hatching and emerging out into the landscape. Her task had been done-no child-rearing hassles for her! Box turtle nest site. By the time I returned to check, she had carefully covered the hole and disappeared back into the woods. I was hoping to see some eggs drop in but decided she needed her privacy and a restored sense of security. Photo by Greg HudsonĪnd what was she doing? Digging a nest for her eggs! Just like a sea turtle, she paddled each hind leg in turn down the hole, bringing up a bit of dirt with each scoop. Photo by Greg Hudson Female box turtle laying eggs at NWF headquarters. While dropping off my compost this morning, I came across this sweet, good-sized box turtle: Female box turtle scoping out potential nesting spots. It was WHAT the turtle was doing that made the sighting rare and fascinating she was digging a nest to lay her eggs! Here is Ellen’s report on the encounter: Seeing box turtles isn’t all that uncommon here since the property is a Certified Wildlife Habitat and also abuts a large regional park complete with hundreds of acres of woodland, the preferred habitat for this species. While Ellen was heading to the compost bin at the back of NWF’s headquarters landscape to deposit food scraps and coffee grounds, she spotted a female eastern box turtle. Last June, Ellen Lambeth and Greg Hudson, fellow staffers here at National Wildlife Federation who work on Ranger Rick magazine, had a pretty awesome wildlife sighting.
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