Like most other people, I am always excited when spring comes around and plants emerge, flowers bloom, and butterflies and bees become active...but to be honest my anxiety level goes up a wee bit, especially when driving. That's because the warm weather means I will start seeing turtles out and about, attempting to cross roads and often getting injured or killed in the process. Turtles put their life on the line every time they try to cross a road just to search for food or water, and this risk has only increased with our population boom.
I always stop to help turtles across the road or pick up an injured turtle. We are very fortunate here in North Carolina to have an organization that cares for injured turtles. The NC State Turtle Rescue Team (TRT) is a volunteer organization run by veterinary students at North Carolina State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM). Since 1996, the TRT has provided medical, surgical and husbandry services free of charge for native turtles and other reptiles and amphibians (their permit does not allow for them to treat pet turtles). About 2/3 of the turtles the TRT receives are hit by cars, and 50% of these turtles are eastern box turtles. In a busy year the TRT will see over 500 patients!
Dr. Greg Lewbart is a Professor of Aquatic, Wildlife, and Zoological Medicine at NC State and the co-founder and faculty supervisor of the Turtle Rescue Team. Lewbart explains that the Turtle Rescue Team benefits the students in many ways: "I think the main benefit is allowing DVM students early in their career to assume ownership of clinical cases and practice "being doctors" before entering the clinic during their 4th year. They learn to communicate with colleagues, write medical records, and interface with specialists at the CVM for complex or unusual cases. Next would be the generation of new knowledge. To date there have been about 30 research papers published based on Turtle Team cases. Third would be education of and interaction with the public. And finally, we end up saving some turtles that otherwise wouldn't survive. I list that as last because even if we save a couple hundred turtles a year, it's probably not a huge impact on the population. But the positive ripple effect of education and learning is much greater."
Emma Ferraro is a second-year vet student and Social Media Chair for the Turtle Rescue Team. "Turtle Rescue Team is not only a great way to give back to our native wildlife species, but it's also an incredible learning opportunity for veterinary students. Under the instruction of our faculty advisors, we get to triage and formulate a treatment plan for our own patients, exercising the very skills we are building on in our classes as we become doctors. It's the best club ever!", Ferraro stated.
I lived in North Carolina for many years before I heard about the Turtle Rescue Team, and I even work for NC State University! I know from past conversations and social media posts that many others are not aware of this fantastic resource so that inspired me to write this article. I have brought several turtles to the TRT over the years and have always been impressed with their dedication and passion for helping wildlife, especially knowing that all the vet students are in a very rigorous and demanding program and volunteer their time.
I visited the Turtle Rescue Team in mid-April to get a few photos of the students with some of their patients. I've been an animal lover my entire life, and spent several years as a wildlife rehabber in my home state of Georgia. It was so fascinating for me to talk with the students and learn about how they care for their diverse patients. I could have stayed for hours!
Below are a few photos from the TRT headquarters at the NC State Vet School in Raleigh. I've also included some photos of a couple of the turtles I have brought to them over the years that were later released back into the wild.
