(dramatic music) - What are you doing? You're right in the middle of the road! Do you realize how dangerous this is? (gasps) Come here, oh, buddy! Okay, we gotta get you
to where you were going. That direction, come on! (animal snarling) They say that the country
roads of West Virginia will take you home to the
place where you belong. And while that might be
true in the iconic words of legendary singer John
Denver, these country roads actually cut right through the home of its native animal species. In fact, roadways, no matter how scenic, are actually the most hazardous
threat to local wildlife in all states across the nation. It's heartbreaking to comprehend,
but thousands of animals are struck and sadly lose their lives to vehicles every single year. And in the spring, turtles, yes, adorable little turtles who
are on their way to lay eggs, face the ever-looming threat of car tires. - All right, hazards are on. (cheerful music) - [Coyote] Is he alive? - [Mario] He's alive. - [Coyote] Oh, oh, no, he
doesn't look like he's been hit. That's an old injury.
- No. So we are in West Virginia. We just actually got into the state. Hasn't taken long for us
to find some wildlife. Today there's a lot of turtles
actually moving, box turtles. We're gonna do you a little favor. Hopefully you stay outta these roads, but it's very important that
you don't interfere too much. You wanna place them in the
exact direction they're going. Easiest spot is to place it right here. And yeah, good luck. - The Eastern box turtle
is one of the most common reptile species in the
wild and wonderful state of West Virginia, and
every year between late May and early July, they are on the move. This is breeding and nesting season, which keeps both the males and females in a constant state of locomotion. However, as a turtle, that
motion isn't exactly speedy. This time of year, you can
see dozens of box turtles on the crawl and doing their
best to cross roadways. If you're a good turtle Samaritan like me, there's a good chance you
will stop your vehicle and help a turtle in need. That's a turtle, yep, another turtle. - Yep, it is a turtle, right. I'm gonna put my hazards on and now I'm gonna pull over to the side. - Okay. (whimsical music) Okay, go ahead, go. Buddy, you are right in
the middle of the road. This is the most dangerous spot that a turtle could
possibly be hanging out. This busy roadway, look, we've
got a car coming right here. All right, so this box turtle
is headed in this direction, across the road, into the forest. And what we're gonna do,
wow, this is the biggest one that we have seen. Pick this guy up, look at that, not even tucking into the shell. That is a perfect box
turtle specimen right there. All right, Mario, you good? It's headed this direction
towards the woods. Here come cars, let's get over here. This is probably the one
to do a presentation with. Look at this, not even
tucking into his shell. What a brave little turtle! Oh, my gosh, I'm so excited. Now if you were to ask me, "What is the field guide perfect specimen "when it comes to the Eastern box turtle?" This one without question would be it. Now let's talk about safety when it comes to helping
a turtle across the road. Oftentimes in the past,
I have taught you guys the right way to move a snapping turtle, but here in West Virginia,
there are box turtles all over the roads. You always wanna pull
your vehicle to a stop, put on your hazard lights, and make sure that there are no cars
coming in either direction. Move quickly, pick the turtle up gently, and then move it exactly in
the direction it was headed. Even if it's a water turtle,
like a painted turtle, a Blanding's turtle, or a snapping turtle, if you see a body of water
on the side of the road from where it was coming, don't
place it back in that water. It's likely a female
on her way to lay eggs. Now when it comes to box
turtles, they also have a very small home range, so if
you see one of these turtles crossing the road, you
don't wanna pick it up and take it home with you or
move it to another location. They are very territorial. Now you may be asking
yourself, "Well, Coyote, "how do you know that this
is a male box turtle?" The males actually have
some very distinct features. First of all, their eyes are oftentimes very red in coloration, so
go ahead and zoom in there on the eyes of that turtle. You see how beautiful
they are, bright red, and then the forelimbs,
which are the front legs, are often very vibrant. Look at that bright orange coloration, such a proud and handsome turtle. Now when it comes to the shell itself, the plastron, which is
the bottom of the shell, if it's a male, is concave. That's so when they're
breeding with a female, they can mount up on top of the female and hold themselves in place
for that breeding purpose. I just love the design of box turtles, and you can see, you're not
even tucking into your shell. That's perfect for us to be
able to look at your features. You see that hind leg, see
those long, sharp claws? Those are very unique. Box turtles are excellent at
digging, and they will forage through the environment looking for food. These are opportunistic
omnivores, which means that they will feast upon
anything they come across. It can be plant matter,
it can be dead animals, but they specialize in eating
small creatures, like worms, insects, invertebrates,
arachnids make the perfect prey for a box turtle like this. Now one thing that makes
the box turtle very unique as compared to other turtle
species is its shell. It gets the name box turtle
from the shape of the shell. The shell is very box-shaped
if I hold it like that. It does have a roundness
to the top of the carapace, but very square in design, especially if I hold it like this. Now the box turtle shell is
unique in that it is hinged. Very few turtle species have the ability to completely tuck
themselves into their shells. Box turtles are one of the species. Now we have featured the
Blanding's turtle in the past, which has a partially hinged plastron, but the box turtle specifically is capable of tucking its head and its legs. Let's see if we can get you to do that. You see that, tucking
completely into the shell? Look at that, all the way tucked in. How cool is that? Now this works as a defense
against any potential predator, so a raccoon, a coyote, a
mink, a fox, anything like that that would make a meal of a box turtle is not able to get into the
soft parts of the reptile to make a meal of it. However, when it comes
to a vehicle, the weight and the power of a car tire
can easily crush this shell. So the biggest danger that a
turtle like this faces out here in the environment is actually
man-made systems like roads. And this time of year,
when you have box turtles moving around frequently,
their biggest threat is, of course, cars. You've gotta be more careful
when you're crossing the road. These turtles tend to
stay to forested areas. You'll often sometimes
find them in meadows, anywhere that there's a
good amount of cool shade and leaf litter for them to bury down in. You'll even sometimes find box turtles hidden underneath logs. Now a painted turtle or a
snapping turtle, a spotted turtle, a Blanding's turtle, all of those species spend the majority of their life in water. Box turtles will go into the water, but oftentimes, it's just to cool down or sometimes to actually
relieve their bowels so they can go to the bathroom. So if you ever see a box turtle, don't place it into deep water. They do not have webbed
toes, so they can't swim and can actually drown. Now one question that
I do oftentimes get is, "Can turtles walk out of their shells "and then move into another
shell as they're growing "and getting bigger?" No, they cannot. No turtle species
actually leaves its shell. The box turtle specifically is unique in that the way that its shell
grows over time, the scutes, which are these little
protective coverings on the back of the carapace, grow
with the turtle over time. Now a species like a
painted turtle, as it grows, those scutes shed off and then
continue to grow underneath, but the box turtle keeps
its scutes its entire life. And you may be looking at the
shell thinking to yourself, "Well, it's just bone, right, it's solid. "The turtle doesn't have
any feeling in that shell." No, that is not the case. The carapace is actually very vascular, so it can feel touch, it can feel heat, and if the carapace is injured,
it does feel that pain. The other thing that's unique
is that the spinal column is actually fused inside
the back of the carapace and all of the bone structure is encased within that protective armor. This is a very old turtle,
a grandfather of the forest, and they can live close
to 100 years in age, especially if they're in captivity. And as long as this
turtle can avoid predators and avoid things like roadways,
it has the chance to live to nearly a century in age. But that is the biggest threat a reptile like this faces
here in West Virginia. A manmade structure like
a road is the true danger that an elderly turtle like this faces. So the next time you cross a road, either do it quickly
or try to find an area where you don't have to
cross at all, sound good? Well, how cool is this? Saving a number of different box turtles off of the roads here in West Virginia and getting the chance to admire
this very handsome turtle. I'm Coyote Peterson, be brave, stay wild. We'll see you on the next adventure. (upbeat music) Well, that's one more box
turtle safe off of the road and into a nice, dense forested area. Okay, little guy, you be safe out there. A turtle is very unlikely
to survive the weight and powerful impact of
a motor vehicle tire, and as stewards of this planet,
we have a responsibility to look out for these friendly reptiles, especially when they are
trying to cross roadways. Turtle saving is a hobby, but don't forget that safety for yourself
and other motorists is always the first priority. The world is a better
place because of turtles, and with each one saved,
there's a bright future for the next generation of
these incredible reptiles. The box turtle is a very
safe turtle to interact with, but what if you need to save
an angry snapping turtle from the roadway? Check out this episode where I
show you the proper technique for moving a mud dragon out of harm's way. And don't forget to subscribe and click the notification
bell so you can join me and the crew on our next wild adventure. (dramatic music)
(bear roaring) (birds chirping)
