'It looks like a really slow moving boulder': Madison resident helps snapping turtles

MADISON, Wis. -- Why did the turtle cross the road?

During the Summer some snapping turtles from the UW Arboretum cross Nakoma Road to find a place in the neighborhood to lay their eggs. One neighbor created signs along the street to remind drivers to slow down for wildlife.

Nakoma Road has a 25 mph speed limit, but neighbors say drivers aren't following the rules.

“People still usually go about 40 and it's really hard to stop,” said nearby resident, Joan Jungwirth.

Jungwirth has lived on this street for 12 years, and over the last five has seen at least one or two snapping turtles in the summer.

"The turtles are endangered. I’ve been worried about them, and they're the slowest. Oh, God, they're so slow," Jungwirth said.

That's the problem. These snappers are slow…really slow.

“Turtles are just, you know, they're great animals and they're just so vulnerable on the streets and they can't get up the curbs,” said previous volunteer for the Dane County Humane Society, Elizabeth Early.

“They're hard to see. They're dark, darkly colored,” Jungwirth said. “It looks like a really slow moving boulder. So they don't have the odds in their favor.”

Most of these turtles don't make it to adulthood because of natural predators, people, and, of course, cars. That's why Jungwirth made the turtle crossing signs.

"I care about animals probably a little too much,” Jungwirth said. “They are so precious."

Jungwirth found more solutions such as an app called Animal Help Now.

“You can say, what kind of animal you are looking to help, and it'll help you find someone that can help you,” Jungwirth said.

People can always call for help too.

“Call the wildlife center. They can send animal control to help because they are dangerous animals, if you don't know how to handle them,” Early said.

At the very least though, drivers can listen to the signs and slow down.

“[The turtles] are really helpless, and we don't do things in a way that makes anything easier for them,” Jungwirth said.

You can visit the Dane County Humane Society and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to learn more about how to help wildlife here Madison.

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