Clearwater couple find invasive turtle on road
A couple in Clearwater discovered something unusual while driving home from a Mother’s Day dinner a few days ago, what appeared to be a snapping turtle.
“We swerved around it and turned around, not wanting it to get hit by a vehicle,” Gwen Freeman said.
The turtle had a large mouth, a heavy tail and a shell roughly 12 inches wide and 20 inches long. Freeman’s husband Richard picked it up and placed it on the other side of the fence in an adjacent field.
“It wasn’t happy, it was certainly ticked off and a little aggressive,” Freeman said. “It couldn’t fully retract its head but was trying to pull its head and legs in.”
The couple took a few photos and “let the turtle be.”
Gwen Freeman said while painted turtles are common in the area, it’s the first time she’s seen a snapping turtle, an invasive species.
“I’m not a professional but it wasn’t colourful underneath, it was grey and brown, definitely not a painted turtle, and it was huge,” she said.
She posted photos of the turtle on social media and got a huge response. Someone informed her she should report the sighting to the Invasive Species Council of BC, which she did and they responded to her on Monday, May 15.
“They didn’t confirm it was a snapping turtle, they just wanted to know where it was found and I sent them the pictures,” Freeman said. “They thanked me and said they would contact me if they required any more information.”
INFOnews.ca sent the photos to Desiree Pat who has a degree in zoology and is co-owner of The Bugs Guys Pets and Exotics in Lake Country, who confirmed the species.
“It’s not a local species, that is a legit snapper, not a painted turtle,” she said. “This is the first time I’ve seen a legit snapper. I hope it will be sent to a wildlife sanctuary, these are on the endangered list, these are delicate species needing our help.”
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In Canada, common snapping turtles’ native range goes from southern Saskatchewan to Nova Scotia, according to the Invasive Species Council of BC. In BC they’ve been found on southern Vancouver Island.
“It is unknown how these turtles were brought to BC, they may be escaped or released pets, or they may have been used as stock animals for outdoor private ponds,” the website reads.
The turtles are larger than other turtle species in BC and can displace native turtles by outcompeting them for food and eating native turtle babies.
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Fully grown adult Common snapping turtles can be between 20-50 cm long and weigh 4.5-16 kg. They are the largest turtle found in BC and can be easily distinguished from other species by their long tails and the backwards-facing triangular spines on their back ends of their shells.
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