Turtles aren’t sexy. They’re not cuddly and you definitely don’t want to take one for a walk.
They do have cute pointy noses and a portable house. They eat mosquitoes,they’ve even become models for ninja heroes and the unlucky ones are snacks for herons.
So are they worth protecting?
People around the world seem to think that it’s worth protecting animals and wild places, be they big or small. Elephants, rhinos and lions certainly bring out the tourists and poachers.
Like every species on this planet, including humans, turtles are being squeezed into smaller and smaller safe areas. We have the ability to save them here, if we place value on the creek and swampy bit of mud that keeps them alive.
Is it worth protecting that creek in Skaha Park?
Our tiny, painted reptiles amaze our tiny human children, a beginning for learning about our environment perhaps?
Turtles are the last that remain of the dinosaur and painted turtles are the only ones native to B.C.
Turtles are a curious looking link in a chain of creatures that is getting smaller every year.
Lynn Crassweller, Penticton