Turtle taxi service seeks Quebec volunteers to transport injured reptiles to rehab

Launched in 2024, Taxi Carapace is a transportation service for turtles — more specifically, injured turtles — that operates in Quebec.

The initiative is run by the Nature Conservancy of Canada and aims to maximize injured turtles' chances of survival by having volunteers safely and quickly transport the reptiles to a specialized rehabilitation centre in Laval, Que.

With Quebec's eight species of native freshwater turtles all designated as either endangered or vulnerable, the organization is now looking for more volunteer drivers. 

Habitat destruction and degradation are contributing factors to the situation, and some species, like the wood turtle, are also threatened by poaching and illegal trade, according to Montreal's Espace pour la vie.

But Francisco Retamal-Diaz, a project manager with Nature Conservancy of Canada, said "one of the most detrimental things for the population is road mortality."

Critical times of the year include the spring from late May to early June, when turtles start moving around after hibernation, then in July, when female turtles make their way to nesting sites, and then again around October, when they travel back to their hibernation sites. 

Retamal-Diaz explained that turtles exhibit site fidelity, meaning they will return to the same summer habitat and nesting habitat, year after year. 

"So pretty much everywhere in the world where there are turtles and there are humans, roads are being constructed and turtles will not adapt their movements and they will have to cross every year at the same spot," he said, adding it's a behaviour that can be passed on through the genes.

The turtles' inability to adapt and move as quickly as other animals makes them especially vulnerable when crossing roads.

Because it can take time for turtles to reach reproductive maturity, from 10 to 20 years depending on the species, the death of even just one adult turtle in a road accident can set the population back 20 years, Retamal-Diaz said.

That's where the need for volunteers comes into play.

"This is why we created the platform Nature Conservancy of Canada carapace.ca," Retamal-Diaz said.

"Its purpose is to document road mortality and where there are turtles on the road, so we can prevent and plan mitigation measures such as fences or signs that are warning the drivers."

In addition to people reporting turtle sightings or ensuring they get across the road safely, volunteers are needed to transport turtles that are in distress to Éco-Nature's Centre de réhabilitation des tortues du Québec in Laval.