Turtles are both predator and prey species, occupying different levels in the food chain. Turtles as a group can be herbivores (plant-eating), carnivores (meat-eating), or omnivores (both plants and animals). How turtles contribute to the environment Turtles have adapted to and survived whatever nature has thrown at them since. Once living alongside the dinosaurs, their ability to adapt allowed them to survive the events that wiped out other species. These ancient reptiles have been on earth for 200 million years. Turtles are long-lived like us, living well over 80 years old. This gave Grundy Lake a collection of habitats that many species call home - including turtles! A truly unique speciesĭid you know turtles are the only animal with a backbone AND a boney shell? The top shell is essentially the turtle’s rib cage on the outside! The hollows filled with meltwater from the receding glacier, creating the wetlands and inland lakes we see today. Ice smoothed the landscape, and in some places “sand-blasted” it with silty water beneath the ice, leaving depressions in the bedrock. Our story begins more than 10,000 years ago, when the Georgian Bay/French River region was sculpted by thick glacial ice sheets and meltwater. This is only the beginning of why we should all care about turtles. The answer is simple: while the park boasts a healthy turtle population and quality habitat, other areas are not so lucky. When I first started working at Grundy Lake, I was talking turtles with our park superintendent when someone asked, “Why do you care so much about turtles here?” In today’s post, Discovery Leader Olivia Bennett discusses turtles’ impact on Grundy Lake Provincial Park - and vice versa!
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