Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre In Peterborough Has Nearly 2,000 Eggs In Its Care
/The Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre (OTCC) currently has nearly 2,000 eggs in its care during the busy current nesting season when so many injured turtles were brought in.
OTCC says on their Facebook page they are "currently incubating eggs from 6 species found in Ontario: Blanding's turtles, wood turtles, eastern musk turtles, northern map turtles, snapping turtles, and painted turtles."
Blanding's turtle eggs
OTCC encourages people to bring injured turtles to the centre, even if they think the turtle may already be dead. The reason: OTCC can retrieve and incubate the eggs that a female turtle had been carrying, so that the misfortunate event that injured or killed the mother does not have to determine the fate of her eggs as well.
This initiative is incredibly worthwhile, as 7 of Ontario's 8 turtle species are species at risk, including the Blanding's turtle (pictured above), which is a threatened species in Ontario.
Snapping turtle eggs
The round shape of snapping turtle eggs (pictured above) make them easy to identify, as other Ontario turtles lay oval eggs, according to OTTC's Facebook page post. The large body size of snapping turtles allow them to carry and lay the largest number of eggs in a single clutch. Snapping turtles can lay more than 50 eggs per clutch, while other Ontario species typically lay anywhere from 3-20 eggs in a clutch.
Painted turtle eggs
