How to safely help turtles crossing the road during nesting season in NY

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — May 23 is World Turtle Day, and the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is asking drivers who come across one on the road to give turtles a “brake.”

In fact, News10NBC’s Nikki Rudd came across a turtle on her drive in to work on Thursday. After pulling over, she grabbed the turtle and carried him to a safe grass spot nearby.

Turtles nest this time of year in New York. Drivers who see a turtle on the road are asked to slow down, and if it’s safe, to pick up the turtle by the sides of their shells and move it to the side of the road in the direction it was facing.

“Turtles are on the move in May and June, crossing roads to find nesting locations,” the DEC said. “The reptiles are New York’s most imperiled species due to habitat loss, fragmentation, and mortality on roadways.”

The DEC says to never take a turtle to a “better place,” because turtles have small home territories and females often return to the same general area to lay eggs year after year.

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