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.

This month 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 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 hibernation sites because these habitats need to have very specific characteristics to make them safe for overwintering. Some turtles have even been shown to hibernate 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 hibernate.