Residents are being urged to watch out for turtles on the road, with a number of sightings reported to local wildlife carers in the region.
Kyle Hancock, who operates Kavs Wildlife Services, said he had come across an increasing number of turtles in his travels including a Krefft's river turtle he rescued from the road at Parklands recently.
“This fella was found not for from a dam near Parklands Estate and was heading in that direction so I placed him near the waters edge and watched him launch off,” he said.
“Hopefully he continues to live a long and happy life.”
Krefft's river turtles are only found in Queensland on the eastern side of the Great Dividing Range, from Brisbane up to the base of Cape York Peninsula.
The turtles are completely carnivorous while young, feeding on aquatic invertebrates, small fish, and crustaceans.
As adults they become omnivorous, adding aquatic plants and fruit that drops into the water from overhanging vegetation into their diet.
Kyle said the turtles were often seen moving around in search of food, a breeding partner or a new place to call home
“They do tend to move around a bit more when there is wet weather as it is not as hot,” he said.
“They can emerge from anywhere from creeks, dams, rivers and even the small irrigation channels so good to keep an eye out.”
Kyle said while they might look cute, taking a Krefft's river turtles from its natural habitat was illegal.
“If a turtle is found please don’t take it home as that’s illegal and please don’t take it to far away from where it was located to begin with,” he said.
“If it’s trying to cross a road I recommend only putting it about five to 10 metres on the side of the road it was heading towards- it knows where it wants to go.”
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