Almost everybody likes box turtles. I have been doing reptile programs for 28 years and every time I have had a box turtle at a program there were lots of “Awwwww, it’s a turtle!” heard by the participants.

It’s not hard to understand why. With their comical faces, short legs, long necks and small tails they are endearing to just about everybody.

These turtles are found all over North America. Their shells are part of the skeletal systems protecting their internal organs. I had gotten into a bit of an argument with a young man who came into the center to inform me that he had just seen a turtle in the woods with its shell off.

Immediately, I told him he couldn’t have seen a turtle with its shell off.

He replied, “Yes I did!”

I wasn’t going to win this no matter how I tried.

Tough exterior

The shells are living material that grows with them their entire lives. Spines and ribs are fused into the shell, making it impossible for turtles to climb out of their shells.

Most of the dangers they encounter can be avoided by drawing their heads, tails and limbs inside their shells. The bottom halves of the shells are called plastrons, which are hinged to allow the turtles to open and close these plastrons with strong muscles.

Box turtles are not “wired” to run from danger. The instinct is to close the plastrons and wait until the threat is gone. Because they are so well-camouflaged, they are almost impossible for predators to spot.

Many predators rely on movement to track their prey. So, “boxed up” inside their shells allows them to literally blend into the forest floor resembling rocks, leaf litter and fallen trees.

Often predators walk right by, not realizing that that turtle was literally under their feet. Also, for the small amount of turtle flesh it just isn’t worth the energy to try to get into the shell, and most predators wouldn’t even bother.

The other good news for the turtles here in our state is that we don’t have predators that can get through that bony shell to the meaty portions tucked safely inside.

Don’t eat the turtles

Long ago, I read an article about survivalists living off the land and eating box turtles. I was horrified. The article was warning these folks not to eat box turtles.

Although the article did point out that they were a rather simple animal to catch and required no special equipment to subdue them, there are two reasons that box turtles should not be eaten.

Turtles eat a variety of mushrooms, even those that are considered poisonous to humans. And, yet these toxins do not harm the turtles in any way.

The catch is that these poisons will remain in the turtles’ flesh. So, by eating the flesh of these turtles, it’s possible to become ill. Pretty neat, huh?

There was a documented case back in 1920 that occurred in the Scranton area. Striking miners got so hungry that they captured and ate wild box turtles that supposedly had been eating poisonous mushrooms. The miners became ill as a result - though what ultimately happened to them isn’t recorded.

Besides the risk of being poisoned by the flesh, it is possible to contract various parasites from eating them. Parasites include roundworms, nematodes and tapeworms.

Why did the turtle cross the road?

Surviving is difficult enough due to habitat loss and humans’ unfortunate habit of taking them from the wild as pets.

Unfortunately, many of these turtles undergo such stress that they do not live very long in captivity.

Even if box turtles are released after being kept for a while the issue is most people are not going to return the turtles to the exact location where they had been found.

Box turtles have amazing homing instincts and will do whatever they can to get back to where they were originally taken from. That means facing numerous obstacles to get back home.

We have all needed the help from a kind stranger to help us navigate through this world so if you should see a turtle crossing the road and can pull over safely, there are a few things to consider. Your safety should be first.

The turtle should be crossed in the direction it was already heading in. This is important because it will probably try to cross the road again once you drive down the road feeling good about your good deed.

If the turtle seems aggressive, chances are it’s a snapping turtle. Despite what the internet says, a snapping turtle should never be picked up by the tail.

The easiest way to get a snapping turtle across the road is have it grab onto something so you can coax it the rest of the way.

Jeannie Carl is a naturalist at the Carbon County Environmental Education Center in Summit Hill. The center rehabilitates injured animals and educates the public on a variety of wildlife found in the area. For information on the Carbon County Environmental Center, visit www.carboneec.org.