WHITEHOUSE, Ohio (WTVG) – Toledo Metroparks works with universities across the country and local organizations to study wildlife in our area. One such partnership is with the Toledo Zoo, whose researchers have been monitoring and tracking turtles at Oak Openings Metropark for years.
“We like to call the Oak Openings region a biodiversity hotspot,” said Karen Menard, Research & Monitoring Supervisor at Toledo Metroparks. “We have the largest number of listed rare plants in Ohio at 161. Lucas County is the top in Ohio.”
Next week, the public is invited to attend the 2022 Oak Openings Green Ribbon Initiative Science Summit, which will highlight recent conservation efforts. It will be held on November 10th from 2:30pm to 6:00pm in the Ward Pavilion at Wildwood Preserve. You can find the registration link at https://metroparkstoledo.com/.
One of the many ongoing studies at Oak Openings is a long-term study of the box turtle.
“They’re of concern because of general downward trends, but we don’t have a really good sense of how they’re doing nationally,” said Matt Cross, director of vertebrate conservation at Toledo Zoo.
Researchers like Matt want to see which roads the turtles cross, where they nest, and where they settle for the winter. To track them down, they tape a tiny transmitter to the turtle’s shell.
“Essentially every turtle has its own radio station,” Cross said. “So we come out here and tune into this radio station and we can watch their movements here as they move through the park and go about their turtle activities. For something that’s only about 6″ long, they definitely move a lot more than you’d expect.”
If you’re worried about the stations bugging the turtles, Matt said they don’t even notice. “You will not be hung. These are small tanks, they drive all over the place.”
On unusually warm days at this time of year, box turtles come out of their hibernation burrows to soak up the sun…much like humans do.
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