Who Should Win?

by James Bow · 1 year ago

Welcome to our third March Species Madness, where our animals, plants and fungi are pitted against each other to see who reigns supreme! Our top four will be featured as our Gift of Nature recipients this November. The first battle of round one pits our defending champion, the Painted Turtle (which includes our mascot, Top Hat!) along with their friends, the Snapping Turtle, and the Blanding's Turtle, recently rescued in this area! Last year, our Turtle Team rescued, incubated and hatched its 10,000th turtle, releasing it back into the wild, and they're looking forward to getting to work again. The Turtles face off against the Jefferson Salamander, an endangered species that has lost much of its range and its population due to urbanization and agriculture across Ontario. Ontario Streams has been working hard on its EcoPassage project to help these salamanders move about their range, avoiding roads and other obstacles. Look for a video of their presentation at rare coming soon!