Learn to Swim Painted turtles very patient

By Julia Magsombol Local Journalism Initiative julia@columbiavalleypioneer.com

Turtles are known to be one of the oldest members of the reptile family. The oldest reptile groups that existed were dated from 220 million years ago.

In Indigenous culture, they are known to be sacred creatures, and they are mostly viewed as timekeepers.

Painted turtles in BC

The western painted turtle is the remaining native freshwater turtle species that continues to live on the BC coast.

The male painted turtle can grow up to 17 centimetres long, weighing 800 grams. The females can grow up to 22 centimetres, weighing 1400 grams. The females are heavier as they have larger shells.

The top of painted turtle shells are usually black and green. They have yellow stripes on the head, neck, tail, and legs. A red marking also exists around their bellies. A female turtle can be distinguished by having light colouration, whereas the males have a darker colouration.

Painted turtles usually live in muddy ponds, small lakes and streams. They love staying in rivers with a lot of aquatic plants. They usually live in southern interior valleys, like the Rocky Mountain Trench north to Golden, the Creston and Nelson areas, the Okanagan Valley, and the Kamloops-Shuswap Lake area.

Their nest is within 150 metres of ponds and dikes. They need warm and dry soil to lay their egg. As they prefer warm places to give birth, a place where it includes floating logs and other sites surrounded by water is good habitat for them.

Males are sexually mature as young as four years old, and females can be at the age of seven or eight. They usually mate in spring, and the female lays white eggs from

June to July.

What is surprising is this process takes a long time. After the female lays eggs, they are incubated for another 70 to 80 days. They hatch in late August and early September. The hatchlings remain in the nest until the spring of next year.

With turtles being slow on land and having full lives after birth, they are truly patient. They are the epitome of the 'slowly but surely' phrase.

Painted turtles eat insects, larvae, snails, frogs, and tadpoles. They also digest aquatic plants. It is reported that young turtles are carnivores, and as they grow older, they become more herbivorous.

Endangered

According to the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC), Western painted turtles on the Pacific Coast are threatened. The main threats are habitat loss and road mortality. Human activity also affects their endangerment by illegal captivity.

The Kootenay conservation group is working to help protect the painted turtle. Read more at https://www. cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/turtle-day-kootenays-1.6825184

Turtles in Indigenous communities

In Indigenous communities, turtles are very important. Most communities believe they represent healing, wisdom, safety, longevity, protection, and fertility. Due to the turtle's hard shells, they also believe that it represents protection and perseverance. Some communities believed that the turtles were part of creation. They believe that turtles went into the waters to retrieve mud to create Mother Earth.

To read more about painted turtles, visit: https:// www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/environment/plants-animals-and-ecosystems/species-ecosystems-at-risk/brochures/painted_turtle.pdf.