Featured Animal: Box Turtles

CFW Welcomes a New Resident Turtle!

By: Amy Titcomb

The Center for Wildlife has recently welcomed the newest member of our education team… a beautiful and friendly female box turtle! She has quickly become at home with our other resident box turtles Clifford, Lilly, and Big Mama. She gets along with all her new roommates, although she is something of a hog, spending most of her day sitting in the turtle-salad bowl!  Eastern box turtles are very rare in Maine, due to a combination of factors… our cold winters make New England the northern edge of their range and they were probably never very common here.  However, habitat destruction, car hits, and the pet trade have further dwindled their already-low numbers.  Unfortunately for them, their easy-going and adaptable personalities make box turtles popular pets.  It is illegal to take wild turtles home for pets – not to mention ecologically irresponsible (all Maine turtle populations are fragile, so every individual is a crucial member of the wild population) and most importantly, it’s cruel to the little guys who prefer a life in the wild!

Furthermore, keeping a pet turtle is no small task.  For one thing, they can outlive their owners – box turtles can live to be 80-100 years old!  More often, they outlive their owners’ interest in them, as they are animals with very specific and detailed care requirements.  Tragically, many well-intentioned people release pet turtles into a new and unfamiliar habitat, where the turtle is unlikely to survive.  Turtles are adapted to their specific environments, and have very strong homing instincts.  Therefore, a turtle moved to an entirely new environment may not be able to find food, or find sites for hibernation or egg-laying; they also may not adjust to the climate. 

For this reason, our box turtles – all former pets of unknown birthplace – cannot be released.  Instead, they stay with us, doing important work as education ambassadors who visit schools and community groups to teach people about their very cool species.  We are thrilled and honored to welcome this new educator, who already shows an outgoing personality that is sure to make her a hit in every classroom she enters!

The Center tries to give much needed care but still allow the animals to be wild, with the intention of letting them go when they are ready to care for themselves. Too much "love" can result in a baby animal imprinting on the humans caring for it and that makes it difficult to release. If you find an animal that seems to be in need, keep an eye on it for while before you decide to take it in. Sometimes, Mom is right around the corner and will retrieve a baby in a short while. If you do decide to intervene, call the Center and get instructions on how to properly handle the animal or call the Animal Control officer in your town.