Endangered turtle faces tough year in Ontario

An endangered spiny softshell turtle. (Upper Thames River CA / Flickr)

The spiny softshell turtle is endangered both in Ontario and Canada.

Biologists protect the eggs to release hatchlings since so few reach adulthood.

In 2017, 6,000 spiny softshell turtle hatchlings were released into the Thames River.

This year, only half as many turtles will be released.

The numbers could be due to cooler weather in April and May, or due to flooding in the late winter.

“Climate change will continue to make our work more difficult, with extreme heat and strong storm events leading to flooding which causes turtle eggs to fail,” said Scott Gillingwater with the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority.

According to a media release, the protection program has shown an increase in turtle numbers along the Thames.

This year marks the 25th anniversary for the UTRCA Spiny Softshell Turtle recovery project.