A Note from the Author

When I graduated from veterinary school, my goal was to work in wildlife conservation, combining medicine with conservation. Although I enjoy helping with all wildlife, my work with turtles is perfect for me, as it combines medicine and conservation so well. Turtles are in trouble all over the world. In Ontario alone, seven of the eight species are listed as “at risk.”  Through the past 200 million years, turtles have survived with little change, and with the same life history. To ensure the continuation of healthy species, they rely on a long life and very low adult mortality. These days, not many eggs make it to hatching, let alone to adulthood! Turtles also take a long time to mature, and it therefore takes a long time to replace a lost adult. As a result, populations cannot tolerate the loss of adults that is being experienced by species around the world—through habitat loss, road and fishing mortalities, pollution and illegal harvesting.

The Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre (OTTC, previously the Kawartha Turtle Trauma Centre) was established as a registered charity in 2002. Although it started as a hospital to treat injured native Ontario turtles and release them back into the wild, it now has an even broader impact on turtle conservation. We developed an extensive hatchling program and are now also conducting a lot of field work. Education is a key to all areas, as getting the public involved is essential to creating change.   

I joined the centre in 2009 and am currently the executive and medical director. It really is the most amazing project, and our work is making an impact. I feel very lucky to be a part of it, and look forward to seeing it develop even more.  I hope you enjoy reading about our work, as well as the work of many tremendous turtle biologists throughout the world.  Please see our website at www.kawarthaturtle.org to find out more and to learn how you can get involved.

— Sue Carstairs