WA's wild weather forces turtles straight into oncoming traffic as they flee floodwaters

Aussie Pythons & Snakes Forum

Help Support Aussie Pythons & Snakes Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Status
Not open for further replies.

Flaviemys purvisi

Very Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 28, 2017
Messages
3,353
Reaction score
2,525
Location
QLD
abc.png
ABC South West WA
By Jessie Aiton and Meggie Morris - 7th May 2018

9844824-3x2-700x467.jpg
PHOTO: Turtles and suburbia don't always mix — especially in wet weather. (Supplied: Jessica Berry)


Wild weather across Western Australia has caused more casualties than just sinking houseboats, power lines and rogue trampolines.

Flooding in the state's South West this week has forced the region's long-necked turtles out of their wetland homes on to main roads and under the wheels of unaware drivers.

WARNING: Some images may be distressing to some audience members.

South West wildlife carer Jessica Berry said she had been inundated with reports of crushed turtles on Busselton's main roads as the reptiles flee fast-flowing waters to the sanctuary of road-side puddles.

She said residents had reported more than 10 turtle deaths in just one week.

9844834-3x4-340x453.jpg
PHOTO: Wet weather has brought the turtles out, running the gauntlet with cars. (Supplied: Jessica Berry)


"Because of the stormy weather, the waters are rising in our local creeks and dams and rivers and they're trying to get away from that," Ms Berry said.

"As the water has receded and drained away, these turtles have then been left exposed to the traffic and, unfortunately, they're just not fast enough.

"The top of their shells, the carapace, is in fact the same colour as our main road bitumen, so with the water glistening off the top of their shells and the puddles, they are very difficult to see.

"It isn't until they do start to move, and you notice how awkward they are that you will see them."


From bad to worse
The long-necked turtles, endemic to the South West, have not had a good run this year.

Multiple turtles were found dead, bloodied and hanging from a road sign near Collie in February, before another surfaced in Margaret River with three large fishing hooks stuck in its body and face.

And Ms Berry anticipated more of the near-threatened species would turn up crushed on south-west roads as they continued to migrate this winter.

9840462-3x2-700x467.jpg
PHOTO: South-western long-necked turtles are being run over as they try to flee floodwaters in WA's South West. (Supplied: Jessica Berry)


"They have a direction they're headed — and that's it," she said.

"This will continue right through till about September.

"We essentially now have two turtle seasons in one: currently it's hatching season, so all our babies are hatching and making their way to water and then we've got the rising water, which is causing our bigger turtles to leave as well."


Turtles will have to cross the road a third time toward the end of the season, Ms Berry added, when mature females leave the water again to lay their eggs in sandy areas.

Wildlife carers will then extract the eggs from mothers who can't be saved, incubate them and release them the following season, where the juvenile turtles will inevitably continue the cycle of crossing the busy roads that intersect their migratory paths.

9840390-3x2-700x467.jpg
PHOTO: Wildlife carers are preparing for a growing number injured long-necked turtles runover by cars this migratory season. (Supplied: Jessica Berry)


Pleas for signage
For years, local wildlife carers have been urging the local government to erect signs to make motorists more aware of the turtles, as they are very hard to spot.

Bernie Masters, president of the Busselton Naturaliste Club, said the council worked with the group to install similar signs for the western ringtail possum almost two decades ago.

He said signage for turtles had already proved successful in other WA regions, and he could not understand why the city had not "jumped at the chance to protect our wildlife".

9840428-3x2-340x227.jpg
PHOTO: For years, wildlife carers have been campaigning the local government to install signs warning motorists of migrating turtles. (Supplied: Jessica Berry)


"It's quite common in the Perth metropolitan area for signs to be erected between wetlands and sandy ridges on the other side of the road where the females go to lay their eggs," he said.

"Those signs are put up without any fuss at all."

The City of Busselton said it was aware of the issue but, while staff were happy to work with wildlife carers on a solution, it was not sure signs would help.

"It is not clear that signage in this location would have a significant impact on driver behaviour, either during periods of high water levels or more generally," the city said in a statement.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Back
Top