Spring Can be Hazardous
Spring is a hazardous season for frogs, toads, newts, snakes and turtles because they leave the warm shelter of burrows, dens or other underground homes and travel back to their breeding and hunting sites. Most of the time, these sites are wetlands, swamps, ponds or other areas with slow-moving water. Often, this journey involves crossing some of our busiest roads. Toads, preferring to walk rather than hop, can take as long as a month to reach their destination. Other slow animals, like snakes and turtles, are often highway victims because of long body shapes and a desire to bask on hot roads.
Viewer Tip: By simply increasing alertness and awareness while driving, the impact to American wildlife can be reduced. Scan roadside edges and the pavement ahead of your car for movement or recognizable shapes.
This information is provided by the Georgia Wildlife Federation. For more information visit http://www.gwf.org/.
Season: Spring
(Source: Whit Gibbons and Mike Dorcas, Snakes of the Southeast, GA: University of Georgia Press, 2005.)
