Jersey Shore Motorists Urged to Watch for Nesting Turtles

Attention Jersey Shore fans! It’s turtle crossing season!

If you’re traveling to the Jersey Shore this summer and see an oddly placed rock on the road, be careful not to hit it! It could very well be a turtle.

It’s turtle crossing season on the New Jersey coast, and drivers are reminded to Be vigilant for turtles on the streets.

What kind of turtles are we talking about here? They are diamondback turtlesand they are in the middle of a very busy nesting season.

During nesting season, thousands of female turtles look for places to lay their eggs, which they do by finding higher ground. In many cases, this means crossing busy roads, and unfortunately, some of them don’t make it.

While you’re avoiding bumping into these superhero mama turtles, they’re also getting a lot of help from the Wetlands Institute, based just outside Stone Harbor, as well as other groups that employ turtle patrols to help return the turtles to safety.

What can I do to help the turtles crossing?

If you come across a turtle on the road, do your best to avoid running it over. If you feel like going the extra mile, you can pull over, wait until it’s safe to help, and then move the turtle out of the way yourself.

Institute members say if you move a turtle, make sure you move it. In the direction it is goingnot in the direction it came from, otherwise it will turn back towards danger.

Here’s to a successful nesting season!