Turtles are vulnerable to traffic during their active season, from May to October. Female turtles are especially at risk of a collision in June because they travel more frequently to find a good spot to lay their eggs.

If you see a turtle crossing a road, refer to the section “Before helping a turtle at risk of being struck by vehicles” as well as our video.

Report your dead turtle observations on our Carapace sighting form. We document turtle mortality.

Carapace is a virtual data collection platform. We’re not a turtle rehabilitation center and do not have the expertise to treat injured turtles. However, here are some useful tips if you find a turtle injured that was hit by a car:

• Do not rinse it or put it in water.
• Do not feed it.
• Do not turn it on its back, this might injure it further!
• Place the turtle in a well ventilated container in a cool dark place, away from predators, insects, and sun.
• Contact an expert that can assess the situation and guide you.
• Report your observation on our sighting form. We document injured turtles occurrences.

If you are unable to quickly contact an expert, try to keep the turtle hydrated by offering a bowl of water or by trickling water in front of its beak. Our list is updated whenever an expert agrees to have their contact information published.

Note: Under Quebec’s Act Respecting the Conservation and Development of Wildlife, in order to rehabilitate any wildlife species, the individual must be a veterinarian or possess a licence for a wildlife rehabilitation centre, a zoological garden, or a wildlife observation centre. These individuals must take all possible steps to avoid domestication and release the animal in nature if it is able to survive.

Do not move a turtle to a different area. Turtles know where they are going. By moving a turtle to a different site not only it can be an unsuitable habitat but you compromise its survival by making it travel a longer distance to come back to where it was initially going. You are also increasing the risk or propagating diseases to other species.

If the turtle is in a location that presents an imminent danger or a high risk of mortality, such as an industrial site, a housing development where large machinery is being used, a large parking lot with moving cars, etc. you can move it or help it to move in a natural habitat located close by.

Before touching a turtle refer to the section “Before helping a turtle at risk of being struck by vehicles” as well as our video.

During nesting, or egg laying, females mainly look for sites with sandy, earthy or gravelly soil to lay their eggs. Shoulders of unpaved roads often attract females for egg laying. However, these areas are unsafe for both the eggs and the turtles, as nests can be compacted by cars, eggs destroyed and females crushed. Be vigilant along roadsides!

Sometimes you may find eggshells scattered on the ground surrounding a turtle nest. These eggs have been targeted by predators, such as raccoons, foxes and skunks. Although sad to see, egg predation is part of the turtle's life cycle and biology. Turtles have a low egg survival rate and late sexual maturity. The real problem, though, comes from human-induced mortality that disrupts the life cycle of turtles. Studies show that if a two to three per cent rate of road fatality is added annually to current environmental pressures, a long-term population decline of most turtle species is possible. To prevent a decline, the main focus should be on protecting adult turtles and reducing the risk of road collisions.

Never disturb, touch or move a turtle or its eggs! If you want to protect a nest from predators on your property, contact an expert in your region or check out the Canadian Wildlife Federation’s info sheet to build a nest protector. Note that the document indicates to leave the protector in place until late October, however, if you are not able to regularly monitor the hatching, it is best to remove the protector at the end of July.

If you wish to manage a habitat to protect turtles, please contact an expert in your region area who will be able to help or give you advice.

Carapace does not sell turtle crossing signs for the time being, but you can find turtle crossing signs sold online by companies in Quebec.

Feel free to share the Carapace tool by publishing its page on social media. The success of this platform depends on the users who know it and use it. You can also make a donation to help manage the platform and protect turtles.

Note: The Carapace platform is managed by only one person in Gatineau. It is therefore impossible for us to get involved locally in all regions of Quebec.

If you witness an illegal behavior towards turtles or their habitat contact S.O.S. Poaching:
1-800-463-2191

Pet store turtles, such as red-eared slider and Eastern box turtle, are exotic species that come from breeding farms in the southern United States or countries with warm climates. Pet store turtles should never be released into the wild because they are non-native and can threaten the survival of our Quebec turtles (Éco-Nature, 2013).

Anyone owning an exotic turtle who wishes to dispose of it should contact a pet store, veterinarian or local SPCA. Some experts on our list can also take care of red-eared sliders. Do not contact us to give away a turtle, we are not equipped to take care of them.

Nowadays, smartphones and digital devices are part of the daily lives of most people, so we have chosen to make that very important piece of information mandatory.

The photo allows us to confirm the turtle species, to validate the information provided in the sighting forms, and thus better document the road mortality threat for each species. Accurate data will also help select priority actions in an area since some species are more threatened than others.

If you are unable to stop safely to take the photo, but are able to locate the exact location of the turtle, you can complete the report form by attaching a text file with the title "No photo". If you're using a smartphone or tablet, you can take a picture of a note that says "No picture". Be sure to provide detailed explanations in the comment box of the form to help us better process your data.

If you are unable to submit your form, make sure you have completed all required fields. When mandatory fields are not filled in, the following message appears on the screen "There was a problem with your submission. Errors have been highlighted below.”, and the fields are displayed in orange directly in the form. If you are missing a photo, please refer to the explanations under Mandatory Photo on Carapace.

If your notice and issue with the website, contact us.

Here are some tips on entering information on the carapace.ca form:

Tip #1: Be sure to read each drop-down menu carefully before selecting the correct option.

Tip #2: If you see two turtles in the same location, but they are different species or in different condition, please submit two separate forms — one for each turtle.

Tip #3: Before submitting your form, check the positioning of your observation on the Google map.  If necessary, move the red pointer to show the correct location of your observation.

Tip # 4: Location options 1, 2 and 3 automatically generate latitude and longitude in the formats 45.123456 and -75.123456. These numbers allow us to produce maps. Please do not delete these numbers.

Tip #5: If you are using location option 3 — street address — be sure to include the full address, including municipality and province. Do not enter your own residential address unless the turtle is on your property.

We obtained the consent of all the partners before posting contact information on the platform. If there is no contact information for your area, it is because we have not been able to find any or have not obtained permission from an expert.

If you know of veterinarians, reptile experts, conservation organizations or anyone with wildlife rehabilitation permits, do not hesitate to tell them about Carapace. They can contact us to show their interest in working together to protect turtles.

Carapace is continually and actively looking for people who can take care of injured turtles. If you have the expertise, resources and legal authorizations to work with wildlife species, please contact us.

The Carapace project is managed by a Gatineau-based turtle enthusiast as part of her various activities with the Nature Conservancy of Canada. Consultants, interns and partners also provide some help to validate and analyze the data.

The information received in the sighting forms is autogenerated in a database that is shared annually with experts from the Quebec Turtle Recovery Team and partners who can undertake actions to protect turtles.

Carapace will provide a better understanding of the threat of road mortality with the aim of taking action to help turtle populations cope better with the anticipated threats of climate change such as the competition of exotic species, the arrival of pests or diseases, and extreme weather events that can disrupt habitats.

Be patient. The Carapace mailbox is managed by only one person while doing multiple tasks at the Nature Conservancy of Canada. If you have a general question about turtles, it is best to contact an expert in your area or get in touch with a Ministry of Forests, Wildlife and Parks regional office located closest to you.

Turtles may take up to 25 years before reproducing, and their egg survival rate is very low (approximately 2 eggs out of 100 become adult turtles). To maintain their numbers within a population, turtles therefore count on the survival of the adults, especially the females.

However, human activities in the habitat bring many threats and increase adult mortality rates, which can have serious consequences on a population. For example, scientists have determined that an increase of more than 5 % in annual mortality for the Wood and Blanding’s turtles could lead to the decline of a population.

Every effort counts to protect our turtle populations!

Do not hesitate to raise awareness about Carapace by sharing it on social networks. The success of this platform depends on users who know about it and use it. You can also make a donation to help manage the platform and protect turtles.

All species are important within an ecosystem. Turtles have a role both as predator and a prey. They help clean up ponds or lakes by eating plants, insects, and dead fish while representing a food source for other animals. They also help to disperse other life forms by travelling from wetlands to wetlands.

Removing any species from its ecosystem can drastically affect the balance by altering other organisms. As humans, we don’t necessarily see the impact of each species on our well-being, though a slight change may have a trickle effect which can eventually have consequences on our lives. Think of an ecosystem as an airplane from which you remove nuts and bolts here and there. At one point don’t you think the plane would crash?

Excellent French tools exist to clearly identify the different species of turtles in Quebec, including the Atlas des amphibiens et reptiles du Québec and the guide “Amphibiens et reptiles du Québec et des Maritimes” (Desroches et Rodrigue), available in bookstores.

For English tools, we invite you to browse the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre website.

Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre
See list of wildlife rehabilitation centres here.

Aqua Tropicale
159 Lasalle Street
Saint-Constant, Québec
450-633-0775

Ministère de l’Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs - Bas-Saint-Laurent

Geneviève Bourget
genevieve.bourget@mffp.gouv.qc.ca
418-862-8213 poste 302

Mathieu Bélanger
mathieu.belanger@mffp.gouv.qc.ca
418-862-8213 poste 301

Martine Tremblay
martine.tremblay@mffp.gouv.qc.ca
418-862-8213 poste 252

Nature Conservancy of Canada
Gabrielle Cauchon-Déry
gabrielle.dery@conservationdelanature.ca

Conseil régional de l’environnement du Centre-du-Québec
Camille Pelletier Guittier
camille.pelletierguittier@crecq.qc.ca
438-392-3889

Nature Conservancy of Canada – Chaudière-Appalaches
Madelaine Proulx
Madelaine.Proulx@conservationdelanature.ca

Nature Conservancy of Canada
Annie Ferland
annie.ferland@conservationdelanature.ca
514-876-1606 ext. 6250

Nature Conservancy of Canada - Gaspésie
Camille Bolduc
camille.bolduc@conservationdelanature.ca

Ministère de l’Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs – Gaspésie & Îles-de-la-Madeleine
Danielle Gauthier
danielle.gauthier@mffp.gouv.qc.ca

Ministère de l’Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs - Lanaudière
Émilie Chalifour
emilie.chalifour@mffp.gouv.qc.ca
450-654-7786 ext. 257

Nature Conservancy of Canada
Annie Ferland
annie.ferland@conservationdelanature.ca
514-876-1606 ext. 6250

Ministère de l’Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs – Laurentides
Sébastien Auger
sebastien.auger@mffp.gouv.qc.ca
819-623-5781 poste 261

Nature Conservancy of Canada
Charlène Melançon
charlene.melancon@natureconservancy.ca

Nature Conservancy of Canada
Gabrielle Cauchon-Déry
gabrielle.dery@conservationdelanature.ca

Parks Canada - La Mauricie and Western Quebec Field Unit
Guillaume Rheault
guillaume.rheault@canada.ca

Organisme de bassins versants des rivières du Loup et des Yamachiche (OBVRLY) – Saint-Alexis-des-Monts
Geneviève Richard
genevieve@obvrly.ca
819 264-2033 ext. 2224

Corridor appalachien - MRC Haute-Yamaska, Brome-Missisquoi, Memphrémagog
Clément Robidoux
tortue@corridorappalachien.ca
450-297-1145

Ministère de l’Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs – Eastern Townships
Marie-Josée Goulet
819-820-3883 poste 230

Ministère de l’Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs – Montérégie

Lyne Bouthillier
450-928-7608 ext. 700149
Lyne.bouthillier@mffp.gouv.qc.ca

Nathalie Tessier
450-928-7608 ext. 310
nathalie.tessier@mffp.gouv.qc.ca

Nature-Action Québec - Corridor vert de Vaudreuil-Soulanges
Geneviève Gervais
corridorvert@nature-action.qc.ca
450-536-0422 ext. 422

Nature Conservancy of Canada – Eastern Townships
Madelaine Proulx
Madelaine.Proulx@conservationdelanature.ca

Nature Conservancy of Canada - Montérégie
Chantal Cloutier
chantal.cloutier@conservationdelanature.ca

Zoo de Granby - Lac Champlain, Cantons de l'Est
Patrick Paré
ppare@zoodegranby.com

Ministère de l’Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs - Outaouais
Olivier Cameron Trudel
olivier.trudel@mffp.gouv.qc.ca
819 246-4827, poste 248

Nature Conservancy of Canada
Francisco Retamal Diaz
francisco.diaz@conservationdelanature.ca

Bénévole - Biologiste expert
Daniel Toussaint
danieltoussaint@videotron.ca