Outdoor Radio: Following Wood Turtles
Female Wood Turtle tracked by biologists with a radio tag. / © K.P. McFarland
In some regions of Vermont almost all the Wood Turtles that biologist find are old. Why is the Wood Turtle population missing the younger generations? Perhaps their nests are being depredated or the young are not surviving once they hatch. The Orianne Society, a non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of reptiles, amphibians and the ecosystems they inhabit, is currently researching and studying Wood Turtles to perhaps find the answer.
In this episode of Outdoor Radio, Kent McFarland and Sara Zahendra join Kiley Briggs and Melanie Lohrer from the Orianne Society, as they try to follow female Wood Turtles to their nesting sites so they can monitor their success. The biologists have attached a spool of fine string to the turtles to follow their movements and discover where they might have buried their eggs. Join us as we follow along.
Listen to the show
Learn more
- Learn more about Wood Turtles from The Orianne Society and the Vermont Reptile and Amphibian Atlas.
- Help biologists by adding your Wood Turtle sightings to the Vermont Atlas of Life on iNaturalist and see great photos from others too.
- Watch a Wood Turtle wander and then lay eggs in a video from a game camera that Kiley set up to monitor an area.
More Images from the Show
Melanie Lohrer points with radio telemetry antenna to the Wood Turtle hidden in brush. / © K.P. McFarland.
Kiley Briggs points out a spent spool. / © K.P. McFarland
Kiley points out the turtles scutes that have lines that are used to help age it. The radio transmitter is mounted on the shell below his hand. / © K.P. McFarland
Sara and the turtle team poses once last time with the Wood Turtle before they release her. / © K.P. McFarland
Outdoor Radio is produced in collaboration with Vermont Public Radio.
