Threatened wood turtle found on downtown Moncton lawn

The Atlantic Wildlife Institute is caring for a wood turtle (or Glyptemys insculpta), that was found sitting in a downtown Moncton yard.

Pam Novak, of the Atlantic Wildlife Institute, says urban settings are not the turtle's natural habitat but returning a wood turtle to the wild isn't as easy as just setting it free on a river bank.

"When they get displaced from their home range, which is only you know a couple of kilometres," said Novak, "turtles will always try to be back (to) that home range."

But travelling can be dangerous for the slow moving wood turtle.

"The perils that are in front of him, that if you move him even a few kilometres or whatever distance, (are a worry)," said Novak. "(Usually) we get them in when they get hit by cars, or broken limbs. A lot of times if we can repair the shells we can get them back out or sometimes they are beyond repair."

Repairing turtle shells takes ingenuity. Novak said sometimes they use medical glue or, "our veterinary team has actually drilled and wired shells, there are all sorts of methods depending on what the injury is."

"We'll work to determine hopefully, where is best to place this turtle to give him the best chance to get back out there into the breeding population, because right now every turtle is so important, because the numbers are dwindling so quickly."

The wood turtle is officially listed as a threatened species in New Brunswick.

"We try as best we can to work with them to get them back out," said Novak.    

The wood turtle has a bright orange body, yellow-black bottom and an eye-catching circular pattern on its shell. Novak said they are normally found in rivers and streams with clear gravel or sand floors. On land, they prefer green spaces close to the water with some undergrowth and vegetation.