STONE HARBOR MANOR –– Every year in the early summer, thousands of diamondback terrapins crawl out of New Jersey’s coastal salt marshes. Hundreds of these are killed on roads by speeding traffic.
This carnage only occurs during the annual terrapin-nesting season a five to six week period during the summer months. All the terrapins squashed under the tires of vehicles are female who are looking for a place on the shoulder of the roads above the high tide line to dig their nests and lay their eggs, typically eight to 12 per nest.
Sadly, the embankments along the sides of the roads crossing and adjacent to the salt marshes are the most accessible habitat left for these terrapins to nest. Humans who have converted barrier beach islands into summer resort communities have destroyed nearly their entire original nesting habitat, sand dunes along the coast.
People can help terrapins during their nesting season if they:
• Do not disturb them in any way while they are nesting. Keep yourselves and your pets at least 15 to 20 feet away.
• Leave them alone while they are wandering around on land.
• If one is found on the road, pick it up gently and carry it across the road in the direction it is already headed, if possible. Terrapins have very mild dispositions and are not aggressive, but they do have strong hind legs with large sharp claws. If picked up, they will flail their legs in panic and an unaware person is likely to get scratched on the hands. The terrapins cannot transmit disease as a result of handling. Do not drop a terrapin or it is likely to be injured, along with the eggs inside.
• Let nature take its course if a badly injured terrapin is found. If it is only slightly injured, put it back into the nearest marsh creek or salt pond.
• Do not attempt to take an adult or hatchling home for a pet. It is against the law. Terrapins are protected from April 1 to Nov. 1 and there are stiff fines for capturing and possessing them or their eggs for any means. Terrapins are likely to die in captivity because they do not naturally occur in fresh water and most people do not have the necessary salt-water aquaria, which are expensive and difficult to maintain.
(Courtesy of The Stone Harbor Wetlands Institute.)
Cape May – Governor Murphy says he doesn't know anything about the drones and doesn't know what they are doing but he does know that they are not dangerous. Does anyone feel better now?
