A western painted turtle is spotted moving across a garden in Kelowna.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ YouTube
June 12, 2025 - 4:00 AM
A western painted turtle scooted across a garden in Kelowna a few days ago at a surprisingly fast pace with its little feet flapping.
It isn’t the first time gardener Donna Schimm had a turtle toddle through her veggie garden over the 24 years as she has lived next to a wetland area.
“In all my time here I’ve seen maybe a half dozen turtles,” she said. “It has always been very important to me the turtles and all other wildlife have a safe route across my property.”
Schimm gave the turtle space as she recorded its movements and the sounds of it rummaging through the plants can be heard clearly.
“My garden is a little haven for all kinds of animals with lots of shelter from predators, I’ve planted a lot of native plant species to keep things as natural as possible," she said. "A day rarely goes by that I don’t see some kind of wildlife in my backyard so that tell me I’m doing right by them, including the turtles.”
Known for their red-tinted shells and orange-patterned underbellies, western painted turtles are a treasured reptile in the Thompson-Okanagan region and can be seen every spring and summer basking on logs in ponds and lakes.
The turtles are the only species native to British Columbia and are a blue listed species, meaning they’re vulnerable to declining populations.
The turtles help keep wetlands clean and healthy by eating dead plants, insects and animals.
In recent years, turtles making migratory journeys have been crushed by traffic in the Okanagan and efforts have been made to remind drivers to slow down in turtle crossing areas.
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