Box Turtles M32 to M43

M32 (Male), 425 grams, was found late in the 2014 season on the south facing slope meeting with M12 and later matng with turtle M6(f).

GPS distance tracked:

0.4 miles in 2014 (1 month), 12 pts

1.0 miles in 2015, 33 pts

1.8 miles in 2016, 23 pts

1.1 miles in 2017, 21 pts

1.9 miles in 2018, 21 pts

1.2 miles in 2019, 17 pts

0.5 miles in 2020, 10 pts

0.9 miles in 2021, 18 pts

0.7 miles in 2022, 10 pts

0.3 miles in 2023, 5 pts

0.3 miles in 2024, 6 pts

M32's travel and hibernation behavior are consistent season to season, and it is surprising that he was never found during the prior 6 seasons while tracking many other south slope residents. He was observed meeting and mating many times. This turtle can be aggressive when being handled and bites when given the opportunity. There are no other aggressive turtles in this population. M32's primary activity area is 19.1 acres (8 hectares), which is also his home range in this case.

M34, 160 grams A 7 year old juvenile that was found 5/28/15 crossing the road. Where he was coming from and what he was doing on the road is a mystery. Turtles of this young age are unlikely to be travelling far for the purpose of mating.

Apparently, when found, he was released on the wrong side of the road, as he crossed a few days after release, and spent the remainder of the summer in the meadow and forest edge, until being lost on 9/30/15. M34 was tracked 0.7 GPS miles during 4 months of the season.

M38 (Female), 521grams was found late in the 2015 season mating with M19 in the power line ROW, where she hibernated. Her emergence in 2016 was much earlier than normal for this populaton's residents. She was tracked for the 2016 season and was never observed mating.

GPS distance tracked;

0.2 miles in 2015 (1 month), 11 pts

1.3 miles in 2016, 61 pts

1.9 miles in 2017, 73 pts

1.6 miles in 2018, 50 pts

1.2 miles in 2019, 38 pts

1.6 miles in 2020, 38 pts

1.5 miles in 2021, 36 pts

0.9 miles in 2022, 35 pts

0.9 miles in 2023, 32 pts

1.8 miles in 2024, 47 pts

Turtle M38 was tracked the entire 2017 season and was observed mating with M15 three times. In 2018, M38 was found using the new Cabin Meeting Area (north loop) many times along with many other turtles. Turtle M19(M) was killed in 2018, and M15(M), and M51(M) were killed in 2019: all mates of M38, so there are now few known males remaining in M38's activity area. In 2020 M38 was seen nesting in the Cabin Meeting Area, and soon crossed the ridge and, for the first time, was observed travelling downslope to the ravine bottom.

M37 (Male), Dead, 435 grams, Found in a road-cut, hit by a car near the same location where at least 2 other turtles have been found run over and killed by cars in previous years. He had a rear leg completely amputated by the car. There was little blood, and after some recovery time he was tagged and released in the woods near the location he was found.

Appearent by the route photo, he was released on the wrong side of the road, where he spent some orientation time and tried to re-cross. On 8/11 at 12.00 noon he was found dead on the road, smashed by a direct hit of a tire, on a straight and level area, on a sunny, clear, and warm day. Clearly he was attempting to cross the road, and I had released him on the wrong side of the road not knowing which direction he was heading prior to his first accident.

Turtle M36 (Female), Dead, 395 grams, a new young adult female, was found while crossing a secondary road on 6/19/15, likely either coming from or traveling to a nesting site.

After only 5 days of tracking, she was found dead, after being run over by a vehicle on the straight level stretch of road, mid morning, on a clear dry day.

I don't know if she was a resident of this population, but no one will ever know now.

M39 (Female) 430 grams. Dead. This turtle was found 5/5/16, early in the season, in the middle of the private road near the spring that M19 and M4 have been found using in the past.

I suspect she may have been out of hibernation only a short time. She was radio tagged and tracked for 6 weeks before being found dead in a form in the woods with no appearent tramatic injury.

M40 (Female) 435 grams, was found 6/12/16 at woods edge near the Cabin Meeting Area by the landowners. She spent a short time nearby before traveling over the top of the ridge and quickly down-slope to the bottom of the drainage and up the other side to a sheltered cove; her primary hibernation area. M40 traveled too far the 2016 season to be tracked very often during the heat wave days and was lost. GPS distance tracked:

0.8 miles in 2016 (1.0 month), 11 pts

0.2 miles in 2017 (1.5 months), 7 pts

1.4 miles in 2018, 22 pts

0.8 miles in 2019, 14 pts

1.3 miles in 2020, 19 pts

1.4 miles in 2021, 20 pts

0.7 miles in 2022, 13 pts

0.9 miles in 2023, 7 pts

Turtle M40 was re-found 9/18/17 while tracking M1 and M52, was re-tagged and tracked into hibernation. She was found at emergence in 2018 and has been tracked since. It appears that she generally makes a yearly trip to the Cabin Meeting Area, and then returns to her primary activity area in the adjacent drainage.

M41 (Female) 460 grams, Dead, was found 7/30/16 close to M1(F) who traveled to this location from her normal south slope activity area. M41 stayed in the same general area on the north slope for the remainder of the season. M41 was found mating with M15 in the 2016, 2017 and 2018 seasons in areas where M15 had been found frequently in the past. GPS distance tracked;

0.3 miles in 2016 (3 months), 16 pts

0.5 miles in 2017, 16 pts

0.5 miles in 2018, 12 pts

0.9 miles in 2019, 24 pts

1.3 miles in 2020, 33 pts

0.5 miles in 2021, 12 pts

0.5 miles in 2022, 11 pts

0.4 miles in 2023, 24 pts

0.1 miles in 2024, 2 pts

In 2018, M41 climbed over the top of the ridge, and was found close to M19(M) and the Cabin Meeting Area that was used by many other turtles the same year. In 2019 M41 again climbed to the top of the ridge and decended into the drainage on the other side. She spent the remainder of the season in this hollow and hibernated there. In 2020 M41 traveled back to the north-facing slope where she hibernated.

M42 (Female) 510 grams, was found on 8/24/16 on the South Slope mating with M12(m). Part of her travels are located in a difficult area to track frequently. Her primary activity area appears to be the south slope used by M1(f), M12(m), M6(f) and M32(m). GPS distance tracked:

0.6 miles in 2016, (2 months), 17 points

1.5 miles in 2017, 24 points

0.3 miles in 2018, (2 1/2 months), 12 points

1.7 miles in 2019, 14 points

1.4 miles in 2020, 15 points

1.6 miles in 2021, 24 points

0.2 miles in 2022, 8 points

1.6 miles in 2023, 13 points

0.3 miles in 2024, 8 points

M42 traveled a long distance to the meadow in 2017 to nest, crossing the road twice, returning in a very large loop to her primary activity area on the south slope. She was located infrequently during the 2018 season, and was not located as she hibernated, but was located during the winter months.

In 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023, M42 again crossed the road to travel to the meadow to nest, and crossed back safetly, and eventually traveled downslope back to her primary activity area.

M43 (Female) 455 grams, Found 8/28/16 mating with M3(Male) who traveled a very long distance from his previous location to mate. M43 traveled into M9's activity area and may have met with M8 and M10 during the 2016 season. In 2018, M43 traveled a long distance, crossing 2 ridges, and spending the remainder of the season in the hollow with M15, M51, M38, and others. She also visited the Cabin Meeting Area, and was found mating with M51, and hibernated nearby. After 2019 emergence, M43 returned to her primary activity area and traveled back to the Cabin meeting area again in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2024, but was not seen mating there in any year since 2018.

With the death of M9(F) in 2016, another known female is welcomed in M8 and M10's activity area.

GPS distance tracked:

0.6 miles in 2016, 19 points, (2 months)

1.2 miles in 2017, 34 points

1.9 miles in 2018, 41 points

2.0 miles in 2019, 31 points

1.3 miles in 2020, 31 points

2.5 miles in 2021, 42 points

2.2 miles in 2022, 43 points

1.3 miles in 2023, 49 points

2.0 miles in 2024, 42 points

Turtle M43 has never been observed crossing the highway. She has never been observed nesting, but her long forrays (as many gravid females make) to the Cabin Meeting Area may been for nesting. She has never been observed mating while away from her primary activity area.