It is by Grace … Remains of Beloved 125-year-plus Turtle Found

For more than a year, people across cottage country, and even across the province, have been looking for Grace.

Grace was the oldest female snapping turtle on record in the Highlands of Ontario. She was conspicuous due to having just one eye; her left. She also had a distinctive shaped carapace (upper shell). Grace lived and routinely migrated through her home territory in downtown Haliburton village, and she was loved and recognized by locals and also people across the world.

Turtle Guardian staff monitored the area, observing her and also confirming public reports of Grace since 2018. In January 2022 her over-wintering site, a wetland on private property, that was also home to other Wildlife at Risk, was heavily filled in. The wetland, is also a recognized Environmentally-Protected (EP) zone by the municipality, but a lack of standard bylaws in the township - to protect such spaces - played a part in the filling.

Only one viable report since her site was heavily filled in was provided to the Turtle Guardians. It was received in May 2022 when Grace would have been expected to emerge from hibernation, and while the sender indicated the photo that was provided was taken in the area, the tipster was not immediately available and then did not provide sufficient details to verify the sighting.

A call later that summer of a one-eyed turtle in a different watershed in the county was received, however, without pictures and because the area was too far out of her traditional territory, it was dismissed.

In spring of 2023 Grace’s remains were brought into our offices. “We are certain that these are of our beloved friend, as the ocular bones are a match for the unusual form of her eyes, and her suture lines (connections between bone plates) are a match to Grace’s unique carapace” says Leora Berman, founder of Turtle Guardians. However, the condition of her bones, and the location she was found in were unexpected.

The location where Grace was found is near a Crown Land Lake in a neighbouring watershed to her traditional grounds, where she would have had to travel more than 15 km to arrive at, which is virtually unheard of for Snapping Turtles. More, it is highly unlikely a turtle would travel that distance for the first time in their known history, seemingly out of the blue. Turtles may make changes to territories and patterns but over many years, not within one season. Therefore, the only reasonable explanation for finding Grace at this site was that she was relocated by someone.

Her home territory was Haliburton village and Kashagawigamog Lake, where she was seen by some almost annually for at least 40 years prior to 2022. There are anecdotal reports of her in this area from as far back as the 1970s. Koshlong Lake, where her remains were found, is far from her known territory.

Karol Chorosteki and his partner Stephanie say her skeleton was at the edge of deep waters by the dam at the lake. Her body was near the muddy shoreline. As all parts of her were at the location, predation would appear to not be the cause of her death. Furthermore, her bones were bleached white and no flesh remained. The biology points to her having died many months prior.

Given this finding, the earlier caller from Koshlong in 2022 who reported spotting a turtle missing her left eye, may well have seen Grace.

“It is most likely that Grace became lost because of relocation, and was unable to find a suitable hibernation to survive through the winter.” indicates Berman. And the theory is backed up by well-known turtle-experts from across Ontario. “I have consulted many colleagues since the discovery of her remains this month.” Turtles imprint spatial memories when young, and show extremely high faithfulness to their overwintering sites because these habitats need to have very specific characteristics to make them safe for overwintering. Some turtles have even been shown to brumate within one metre of where they have in each previous year. If they are displaced they would not know where they are or where to find safe overwintering grounds.

Read about Grace in the Narwhal- including input from herpetologists across Ontario (8min read)

May 2021. Grace Emerging

January 2022. Overwintering site filling

Dysart et al and the Province

The Township of Dysart et al, where Grace’s traditional overwintering site is, is a municipality that lacked some of the most basic laws to protect community assets, such as wetlands and important wildlife species. Environmental Protection zones are important wildlife, flood control, and water quality areas that are often fragile and yet essential. These areas are often home to Endangered wildlife protected also by the Endangered Species Act and Species at Risk Acts.

The province directs municipalities to identify these areas and protect them.

Instead of choosing a standard or appropriate solution for the 30 year lag in local protections, and after 125,000 signatures on a Change.org petition (https://www.change.org/inthenameofgrace) Dysart et al passed a bogus bylaw; one that only fines people $700 for infractions, and one that anyone can be exempt from- without meeting criteria or public scrutiny.

The response by Dysart et al's leaders speaks loudly about their lack of diligence and wisdom.

Add to Dysart's placating, the provincial government’s responsibilities have always been to guide and fortify protections of our vanishing wildlife and significant spaces. As Grace’s winter wetland is also home to other Species at Risk protected by the Endangered Species Act, the province had to step in. However, it is unclear if a permit which would authorize the filling will be issued. The provincial leadership have set in motion the systematic dismantling of fundamental protections for wildlife and wetlands across the province - in favour of allowing chosen developers to access and pave paradise. The province also says that creating new wetlands in new areas, is their solution. This so-called “offsetting” will certainly remove hibernation sites, fish nurseries, bird forage areas and more, causing more wildlife deaths.

The municipality and province must do more to protect wildlife, sacred spaces, and legendary turtles, such as Grace.

SIGN OUR PETITION:

Call for Change- In the Name of Grace

Order a commemorative canvas print and support our efforts to save turtles and wetlands

Grace was named Bimaadzeewin by Indigenous Knowledge Holders at Curve Lake First Nation. The meaning corresponds to the divine connection and sacred teachings of the Creator on how to live a good life, which were imbued in turtles.

F.A.Q.

How Can You Tell Grace's Age

How old is that turtle? And how did we age Grace?
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It may be surprising to know that it is impossible to know a wild turtle's age, or Grace's age with absolute certainty (unless you have tracked them since they were hatchlings!)
It is true that turtles continually grow, and so a size of a turtle is related to their age.
Grace was the largest female snapping turtle on record for Ontario's Highlands.
However, turtles also grow at different rates in different areas or latitudes (because of temperature, available nutrients, but also there are genetics at play).
It is also even harder as turtle grow older because when a turtle reaches sexual maturity their growth rate slows exponentially too.

So how did we guess at Grace's age?
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Luckily, a 70 year study of turtle growth rates and/or sizes was conducted in Algonquin Park. The study was initiated and carried on for 40 years by Dr. Ron Brooks and is ongoing today! This study is the longest study of growth rates for turtles in Ontario, if not North America!
And because the study was conducted in roughly the same latitude to where Grace lived, and has a large enough sample size to account for all the variables, the results are significant and can be used to "guess" at Grace's age. And because there are variations in sizes for each estimated "age" we were very cautious and used Grace's carapace length to choose the lowest of all the ages on the charts that Grace could be- 125 years old.

But Grace was not only was the largest female on record, she had other distinct features- one eye, unusual scute sutures or bumps on her back - and she had a high domed or convex carapace. Therefore, it is likely that should she had grown "normally" she would be even larger, and potentially even older.

See the research here

How do you know it is Grace

All turtles have distinctive faces. Grace had a distinct face and proportions. She also had a very distinctive and "deformed" carapace where the suture lines had recognizable "knobs". The skull was compared to her face using ratios, like those used in facial recognition technology and a match was evident. Her one eye socket was a definite tell-all. Her unusual suture lines were also an obvious match. Grace's measurements were also taken, and they skeleton is aligned with those body measurements.

Are turtles faithful to their whole territories? Don't the move beyond these?

Turtles learn the entirety of a territory (averaging 8km2) when very young. The territory is like their language. Turtles show high fidelity or faithfulness to this distinct area. Habitats within the territory are like rooms in their house, with some rooms being more critical than others. A hibernation site is by far the most significant destination, where studies show high faithfulness, even up to 1m of previous years. Turtles also return to a general nesting area and often travel similar routes annually. While nesting areas can be adjusted for those that have better aspects for successful incubation, even new nesting areas are more successful if they are placed within traditional routes and they need to be phased in over time. A hibernation site has much more specific attributes that are difficult to duplicate, and yet, they would also need to be within a turtle’s known territory and destination. While turtles may adjust their territory boundaries, this is done over many years as learning a new landscape is like learning a new language.

Why would she not survive in a lake or other aquatic habitat?

A hibernation site has certain characteristics that support successful overwintering; such as ice-over and protection from the elements, shallow depths, and stable water levels.

A lake or otherwise large marsh may have fluctuating water levels where the turtle could end up freezing as a result, or where higher water temperatures (above the preferred 2-3 degrees C) require finite energy to be expended in order to survive a long winter etc.

Studies also show relocated turtles are often stressed, and this stress can cause lower immune system responses or less resilience to stressors.

Roving lost can also cause turtles to use finite energy.

Why is relocation an issue? Do studies show related trends?

Most studies have been done on Box, Blanding’s and smaller turtles, who in fact are more comfortable moving overland, as they are more terrestrial than common snapping turtles. And yet, even for these species, in one study half of the box turtles died within one year. Out of 25 relocation research projects of amphibians and reptiles (including turtles) there was only a 19% success rate overall, which was also skewed upward due to the superior ability of crocodiles to relocation. Even juvenile wood turtles, the most terrestrial of Ontario’s turtles, when relocated, showed remarkable decreases in homing abilities.