At any given moment, there might be an injured turtle somewhere in Ontario hitching a ride in the backseat of a minivan, the trunk of a SUV, or even in the cargo hold of a small plane, on its way to the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre (OTCC) in Peterborough, Ont. What for? To receive medical and rehabilitative care at the OTCC’s one-of-a-kind turtle hospital.
As the only wild turtle hospital in Canada accredited by the College of Veterinarians of Ontario (CVO)—meaning the hospital has to meet strict standards and is run by a licensed veterinarian—the OTCC is the best shot these turtles have at surviving sometimes life-threatening injuries and returning home to their natural habitat.
And since 2009, the OTCC’s volunteer-run ‘Turtle Taxi’ service has been helping injured turtles all over Ontario actually get to the hospital so they can receive the care they need. Sometimes this involves cars, and sometimes? Planes.
How the Turtle Taxi program works
When the centre is notified about an injured or dying turtle, a mass email is sent to all 1,200 volunteer drivers and fliers across Ontario. If a volunteer is near where the turtle was found and has time to make the trip, they accept the request and begin the rescue mission.
Sometimes, depending on where the turtle is located, multiple volunteers are needed to pass it off—whether by plane or automobile—in a type of reptile relay. Turtles have come from Killarney, Ont., Petawawa, Ont., and even Quebec. The finish line is the OTCC’s turtle hospital.
“It’s an amazingly collaborative network of very generous people,” says Dr. Sue Carstairs, executive and medical director at the OTCC. “There’s a lot of kind people out there donating their time and paying for gas out of their own pocket.”
When a turtle is ready to be released back into its habitat, the same taxing process ensues, and the turtle is returned to a special volunteer trained in releasing turtles. They then set the turtle free within one kilometer of where they were originally found.
In 2023, the good work of the Turtle Taxi network helped the OTCC admit 2,000 turtles, properly incubate 7,000 eggs, and release 3,500 turtles.
Turtle Taxis fly high in the sky
When hobby pilot Wayne Harvey isn’t driving a shuttle at Western University, or working at the local municipal airport, the semi-retiree from St. Thomas, Ont., is likely spending his time airborne for the Turtle Taxi program.
Wayne began volunteering for the OTCC in 2019 and feels transporting turtles via the skies is a great way for him to support a good cause and indulge in a hobby he loves—flying. “It gives a purpose to what I’m already doing anyways, and it makes me feel good to help a little creature that needs it,” he says.
Completing about four Turtle Taxi trips per year, Wayne has had some memorable experiences. In one instance, upon landing in Peterborough, Wayne noticed one cardboard box of turtles was empty. Then he saw the gaping hole in the side of the box.
“I looked around and found the turtle under the rear seat of the plane,” says Wayne. “It was a snapping turtle about a foot and a half in diameter. If he had made his way up to the front, he could have bit me in the ankle!” Luckily neither Wayne nor the turtle were harmed during the flight, and the turtle made it to the hospital safely.
Now, Wayne always carries an extra plastic box or two during his trips.
Saving Ontario turtles one taxi at a time
The work that Wayne and other dedicated Turtle Taxi volunteers do helps protect and conserve Ontario’s turtle populations, which are under threat. “We have eight species of native turtles in Ontario, and all eight are listed as at risk,” says Dr. Carstairs.
“Even if you’re not into conservation, everyone should care because turtles are essential to wetland health, and wetlands supply our drinking water. So everyone has a stake in turtle conservation,” she says.
Dr. Carstairs explains that turtles uphold wetland health by clearing passages for smaller animals, depositing beneficial waste, dispersing seeds, controlling mosquito and insect populations, and much more. “They act like the kidneys to our water systems,” she says.
In that way, it’s safe to say we kind of owe it to Ontario’s turtles to look out for them. And we can thank both the Turtle Taxi program and the OTCC’s life-saving veterinarians for making sure they stay safe.
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