A painted turtle run over by a vehicle in May is once again basking in the marshlands and waters of Williams Lake.
Scout Island Nature Centre executive director Megan A Taylor, who has a PhD in entomology, said the turtle was released on Thursday, July 11.
"All I wanted to do was get her back to the wild asap, so seeing her back in the marsh gave me such a sense of relief," Taylor said Friday. "She is stabilized, I wouldn't say fully recovered, because it can take a couple of years for that to happen we've learned."
The turtle was originally rescued on the Scout Island causeway, where she had been run over.
Taylor said they would have liked to release her back near the causeway, but because the water is so low right now and there is an abundance of aquatic plants nearby, she said they placed the turtle in the area called Turtle Bay, about 200 metres away.
"That was the clearest access to water that we had," she said. "She went in and immediately she started crawling forward with her strong legs and sharp claws like she did when we were caring for and I would put her on the grass to get out in the light and the air and to get some exercise."
Taylor's partner, Dr. Don Deitrick of the Animal Care Hospital in Williams Lake, was able give the turtle her final X-ray to confirm she was healing well and that she did not have eggs, something they could not determine earlier in May.
"Actually, when compared to her previous X-ray, he noticed her lung capacity/size had increased or at least returned to normal size prior to being run over," Taylor said.
Taylor would also like the public to know the mama turtles are very active right now nesting on Scout Island and have been since the end of June.
There have been several sightings of turtles laying their eggs - often in somewhat awkward spots like trails, or around human structures like benches and bridges, she said.
Taylor intends to make a few turtle nest protectors with plans they received from the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre, who helped advised them when dealing with the injured turtle.
"It's kind of a double-edged sword because we don't want to draw attention to the nest but at the same time, people may walk right over it or their dog might start digging looking for a tasty treat."
