Turtles on Trails

Question

This is probably a silly question but my curiosity has bubbled over.

I ride mountain bike trails around 5-6 times a week and generally I will see turtles on the trail 2-4 times. Sometimes I even see 2 or 3 turtles in one ride. I wonder if anyone else experiences this?

They are always right in the middle of the trail just chilling, out of their shell. I usually move them off of the trail out of fear of seeing a smashed up turtle on the ride back. I am not sure if location matters, but I ride in and around West Alabama. The trails I see them on are generally very dry and rocky. Also, I have noticed that most of them are not in direct sunlight when sitting on the trail. The canopy is usually pretty thick so, (I assume) there is not much difference in the location other than the debris (leaves, pine straw, etc) being more cleared on the trails.

I don't know specifically what kind of turtles these are but they all seem to be alike in size and shell pattern. Here are some pictures of a few that I have seen. Please excuse the bad quality:

My Question: Why do turtles sit in the middle of bike trails and should I be moving them off the trail?

Answer 1

All through my childhood I observed land turtles - more than half of the garden was turtle territory. The reasons for this behavior that immediately spring to mind are:

• Being cold blooded animals they rely very much on sunlight and warm temperatures during the day to be active. So (like lizards and snakes), they like to chill out in all those places where there is no shade. Rocky grounds are preferred because they are great heat reflectors. So an open rocky path is a great choice for them, because no plants grow there to cast a shadow.

• Females travel long distances to lay eggs. Males travel long distances to deploy semen.

• You will not be the first person passing through there, so you can expect the turtles to be fed once in a while by tourists. It is natural for them to check on the point of feeding often, hoping for some more.

• Some turtles eat all kinds of things you offer them, and it's neither good nor necessary. One example is meat. Once I observed one of our turtles eat a mouse our cat had killed and left around. We had to separate the turtle for a long time from the others because it would bite everything that moved (including me). Once they taste treats they will hang around desperate for more.

Should you move them? You definitely should! Even though they can take quite a hit and throw the cyclist down. He is probably in bigger danger than the turtle depending on the velocity - but if we can avoid both risks of injury, lets to that (btw I find it great that you are concerned about this issue - kudos to you!)

You have to know that moving turtles is an extremely intense experience for them. My mother would tell us to pick them up slowly, and put them back where they were, always move them in the direction that they were looking/walking. If they wandered around for a while, they will be lost if you put them down farther down the path! It's what my mother would patiently explain. I know she read a lot of books about land turtles. She bread successfully on multiple occasions, so she must know her stuff. Her oldest turtle is over 70 by now. You can read more about helping turtles across roads(bicycle/highway/other) here: HELP a turtle. It's from the Minnesota Herpetological Society, and I judge it as reliable source. It also confirms what I remember.

Answer 2

Here is the "duh" answer... Turtles use the trail for the exact same reason you do, which is because it is the easiest place to walk (duh!). This is particularly true of turtles because their short legs makes walking on a smooth, hard trail easier than wading through loose leaf litter, climbing over downed tree limbs, rocks, etc. I know this because I walk and drive in the forest and range lands every day - I have seen turtles, snakes, deer, cows, skunks, racoons, and even a mountain lion walking on trails and roads. Again, they are just plain easier to get around on.