Snapping Turtle Talk!

“I saw this article about snapping turtles on Facebook. I noticed there is a snapping turtle in the pond behind the club house. It also seems a popular place to take kids fishing.” – Mary-Jean Off.

Pinery Provincial Park
September 2 at 4:46 PM

Meet Nadia, one of the park’s resident Snapping Turtles. Keep reading to learn Nadia’s sad story and how you can help protect Nadia and her turtle friends.

One of the park’s resident Snapping Turtles, “Nadia”, lives under the docks at the North Causeway. As part of Pinery’s long-term mark-and-recapture study, when captured, Nadia can be identified, followed, and her story shared. We know that Nadia uses the culvert to travel to either side of the bridge, typically popping up wherever anglers are casting their lines.

Nadia is one of many turtles who struggles to resist the tasty temptations that can be found by our fishing docks. These temptations include live bait attached to fishing lines or dumped in the Channel, fish that have died due to catch-and-release practices, or even visitors handfeeding our turtles part of their lunches.

Recently, Nadia was spotted with a piece of fishing tackle dragging behind her. Upon capturing her, we discovered that not only did Nadia have a barbed hook emerging from her cloaca (hind end), but she also had one embedded in the back of her throat. Nadia had to be sent to the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre in Peterborough for medical care.

Unfortunately, Nadia’s story is not unique. Every year we receive dozens of hooked turtle reports, and most times we are unable to rescue or help the turtle. We’re asking our visitors for help! We need you to fish responsibly to protect the turtles of the Old Ausable Channel.

* Please use barbless hooks to reduce damage to wildlife.
* Please use lures instead of live bait
to reduce turtle attractants at docks.
* If you see a turtle, take your line out of the water.
* Do not feed wildlife under any circumstances.
* Do not dump any fishing tackle or bait in the OAC
– instead, use the fishing tackle receptacles
provided at the docks.
* If you hook a turtle, do not cut the line,
and alert park staff immediately.

Thank you for helping to protect Pinery’s turtles!