The Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre in Peterborough, Ont., is caring for more than 2,000 turtle eggs.
The centre works with a veterinarian to rescue turtles found along roadsides and in the wild; the eggs from injured turtles can be saved, even when the mother turtle cannot be.
Some of the eggs are kept in incubators where they are put in clear containers and kept in vermiculite to keep humidity levels high enough without running the risk of drying the eggs out.
Once the egg is hatched, the hatchling is put into the water where they are fed and can grow.
“When they come in, they may lay their eggs naturally while they are receiving care and treatment here,” said turtle program manager, Donnell Gabarrini. “Or, if the female passes away due to the severity of her injuries, we can extract the eggs from her body and we can incubate them so that the death of the mother doesn’t have to mean the same fate for her young.”
The young turtles are kept for about nine months and are then released in a location near to where their mother was found in Order to Preserve the genetic patterns.
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