Sophia is saved: Turtle hit by car in Sask. on road to recovery

One western painted turtle got a little too close for comfort to civilization when she was hit by a car while roaming for a nesting site.

The female turtle, named Sophia, cracked the underside of her shell, as well as where thetop and bottom shells meet.

The turtle was found basking in the lake Monday morning. At first, she seemed fine. But then, blood was found on the underside of her belly, along with cracks in her shell.

Kelsey Marchand, leadresearcher with the Wascana Turtle Program and a student at the University of Regina, cracked the case when she deduced Sophia was hit by a car.

"I'm originally from Ontario, and in Ontario there is a lot of turtle/car conflict. I've seen a lot of turtles hit before, so I sort of knew the symptoms of being hit by a car," Marchand said.

The injured turtle was takento Albert North VeterinaryClinic for treatment.

Through an X-ray, it was discovered Sophiawas carrying 20 eggs.

"Since she was hit by a carit means she was probably out roaming looking for a nest sitebecause typically these turtles stick into the water unless they need to," Marchand said.

"Right now is nesting season for females.So presumably she was just out and about and just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Now, the turtle will be going to Salthaven West, a wildlife treatment and rehabilitation centre, to get on the road to recovery. This injury will heal naturally in time, and only requires medication and bandaging.

"Hopefully the planis that she'll drop the eggs when she is at Salthaven and then they'll be able to incubate them for us," Marchand said.

Sophia will be released back into the wild when she's healthy.

"Potentially, we'll be releasing some baby hatchlings as well,"Marchand said.

Sophiaisone of 69 turtles tracked by the WascanaTurtle Program. The program is dedicated to monitoring the movements of turtles in the Wascana Marsh area.