Keep an eye out for Ontario's turtles, who are hitting the road for mating season
Love is in the air for Ontario's turtle population and a group called the Turtle Guardians says they've been busy dealing with the influx.
They're hoping residents will keep an eye out if you're driving on area roads in the next little bit.
The group has been fielding about 120 calls a day from nesting grounds near the road in both cottage country and in Sudbury.
"They are interlinked with this Earth – and so it was a wet and wild June and that was a signal to all the females, all the moms to get out and go nest," said Leora Berman of the Turtle Guardians.
Berman figures each of the turtles will cross the road about 12 times a year, but many are hurt or killed by passing cars in the process.
And he said a busy population doesn't exactly mean a healthy population; turtles are a threatened species in Ontario.
"In southern Ontario, there are portions where we have lost 90 per cent of our wetlands, all the way up to cottage country, we have lost a significant portion of our wetlands and hibernation," Berman said.
"The vast majority of turtles that come in (are) hit by vehicles – that's the most common scenario by far," said Turtle Pond Wildlife Centre's Gloria Morissette.
Morissette has one 41-pound snapping turtle they rescued from Lake Laurentian who's currently battling an eye ailment.
If you have to rescue a turtle, Morissette said it's important that you do it safely and don't change the direction the turtle is heading.
"That doesn't mean that there's a wetland in front of them," she said.
"People shouldn't assume that they're going the wrong way and try to switch them to where the water is because where they try to find next sites is often away from water sources and they'll travel kilometres to try and find and appropriate nest site."
Morissette said it's also been a busy time for bunnies. She's asking people to leave baby rabbits alone because they have not been abandoned by their mothers.
Her centre is now the only one left in the region. After it fills up, the next closest is Parry Sound.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING | Actor Anne Heche dies a week after car crash
Actor Anne Heche has died after suffering a brain injury following a car crash last week, according to her family. She was 53.

Author Salman Rushdie attacked on lecture stage in New York
Salman Rushdie, the author whose writing led to death threats from Iran in the 1980s, was attacked and apparently stabbed in the neck Friday by a man who rushed the stage as he was about to give a lecture in western New York.
How warm is the planet? Data shows last month was 6th hottest July on record in 143 years
Last month was the Earth’s sixth-warmest July on record in 143 years, according to the U.S. federal agency that studies oceans, the atmosphere, and coastal areas.
300,000 Canadians at 'severe' or 'moderate' risk of gambling problems
While problem gambling affects a minority of the Canadian population, more than 300,000 are at “severe” or “moderate risk” for gambling-related problems, according to a Statistics Canada study of gambling behaviour.
Cabinet heard of potential 'breakthrough' with 'Freedom Convoy' protesters before Emergencies Act was invoked: documents
The night before the federal government invoked the Emergencies Act in response to the 'Freedom Convoy' protests, the prime minister’s national security adviser told him there was 'a potential for a breakthrough' in Ottawa, court documents show.
Judge suspends two articles of Quebec's Bill 96 regarding legal translations
A Quebec Superior Court judge has temporarily suspended two articles of the province's new language law, saying they could prevent some English-speaking organizations from accessing justice through the courts.
Hydro lines will take 'several days' to repair as Toronto investigates massive power outage
The City of Toronto is investigating a power outage that left a large swath of the downtown core including office buildings, a major mall and a university campus without electricity yesterday.
WHO plans to rename monkeypox over stigmatization concerns
The World Health Organization says it's holding an open forum to rename the disease monkeypox, after some critics raised concerns the name could be derogatory or have racist connotations.
Trump home search: Judge deciding on unsealing the warrant
A federal judge was to decide as soon as Friday whether to grant the Department of Justice's request to unseal the warrant that authorized the FBI to search former U.S. President Donald Trump's Florida estate. Attorney General Merrick Garland declared there was 'substantial public interest in this matter,' and Trump backed the warrant's 'immediate' release.