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The Blanding’s Turtle is the next largest turtle in the Algonquin Highlands after the Snapping Turtle. Its shell can range from 12-27 cm in length. It has a helmet-like appearance. Its shell is very smooth and quite tall. There are random white or pale yellow dots covering it. What makes the Blanding’s Turtle so easy to identify is its bright yellow chin. It also has a very flat head with eyes that stick out. The Blanding’s Turtle is one of a few turtles that has a hinged plastron that allows it to completely close off the back end.
Like the Wood Turtle, the Blanding’s can swallow on land and spends some time out of the water but never strays to far from it. It is most likely found in shallow lakes, ponds and marshes with dense aquatic vegetation. The female will lay her eggs in June or July and they won’t hatch until late August or September. Also like the Wood Turtle, the areas where Blanding’s Turtles are found are very patchy across Eastern Ontario, with the largest population in Canada found in Nova Scotia.
Although at one time the Blanding’s Turtle may have been quite popular throughout the Algonquin Highlands, it seems that the cooler climate may be affecting their numbers, as with all the turtles. It is very hard for a cold-blooded animal to survive the winter months. They all have to store up enough food to last through the winter. Many Blanding’s have starved to death because they didn’t get enough to eat in the months before winter, which is another reason for the decline in population. It is another problem for the turtles to breathe in under the snow and ice in the water. They absorb oxygen but sometimes the bottom of lakes and river run out of oxygen before spring arrives. So what may appear to be a great place for the Blanding’s Turtle to live, actually may not be.
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BLANDING'S TURTLE
(Family Testudinidae)
Emydoidea blandingi
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