A Staff鈥檚 Perspective: SOARR Day听
On Saturday, August 17th, Scott Gillingwater and the Southern Ontario at Risk Reptiles (SOARR) team hosted an informational session on their Species at Risk program for friends and family at the 糖心直播 (UTRCA)鈥檚 Watershed Conservation Centre (WCC).听听
I attended and brought my partner along. We were really looking forward to seeing the team in action and speaking about this program. With Scott leading things you feel the weighted importance and passion that drives these programs. Like similar events in the past, this day gave staff and volunteers a behind-the-scenes view of the team鈥檚 recovery efforts. They shared their wide range of knowledge through different information stations placed around the WCC.听听
Attendees were able to see the hatchlings of six native Ontario turtle species: Eastern Spiny Softshell Turtle (Endangered federally and provincially), Spotted Turtle (Endangered federally and provincially), Blanding’s Turtle (Endangered federally, Threatened provincially), Northern Map Turtle (Special Concern federally and provincially), Snapping Turtle (Special Concern federally and provincially) and Midland Painted Turtle (Special Concern federally). It鈥檚 worth noting that we were particularly lucky this day as the very first Spotted turtle hatchling had just made its way into the world earlier that morning! It鈥檚 easy to see why so many people are excited by this program and the cuteness of the young turtles was not lost on us.听听
One station focused primarily on the threats facing turtle populations in our environment. These primarily include the predation of eggs by raccoons/skunks/coyotes, predation of juvenile and small turtles by mammals and birds, illegal collection, capture by anglers, environmental pollution and increasing flood events. The Spiny Softshell turtle is particularly susceptible to these threats in our area of Canada and the SOARR team works very hard to turn things around for this species.听听
For reference, the program went from releasing a few dozen turtles in the 1990鈥檚 to releasing 10, 000 turtles from over 600 nests in 2024. This has allowed turtle populations to re-establish themselves, replenishing an aging, adult population with a growing population, with all age classes represented, including new adult female turtles laying eggs for the first time. It should be noted that it takes upwards of 15 years for turtles to reach maturity.听
Another station included information on field techniques for capture and marking, as well as how and what type of data is recorded when hatchlings are coming out of the lab. Scott discussed that while there are some turtle programs existing that incubate a large number of turtle eggs, the SOARR team 鈥渋ncubates and hatches out more federally listed Endangered turtles than other program in North America鈥�. Amazingly, but not surprisingly, this work has influenced a large number of other programs across Canada to adopt SOARR incubation methods, allowing them to successfully incubate turtle and snake eggs for conservation projects. SOARR has been a leader in reptile research and conservation in Canada and after 31 years, they are only getting better!听听
Inspiring feels like a massive understatement for the commitment and work this team does every summer. I should also highlight that this team has maintained this strong effort with thanks to many tireless volunteers and amidst ongoing funding challenges and legislative changes.听听
Thank you to Brynn Anderson, UTRCA Stewardship Services Assistant, for providing her SOARR Day experience. If you would like to support this work, please visit听