Touch at your own risk, snapping turtles on the move in N.B.

New Brunswick'slargestreptiles are on the move around the province this week, and experts are urging residents to give them a lot of space.

Weighing as much as 34 kilograms, or 75 pounds,common snapping turtles haveheavy,spiked tails and massivearmouredshells and can present challengesto drivers on provincial roadways.

• Threatened wood turtle found on downtown Moncton lawn
• Leatherback sea turtle spotted in the Bay of Fundy

Although they keep a low profile most of the year, thisnext week will see thelarge reptilesabandon their normal wetlands and streams in search ofdry, elevated areas to lay their eggs.

Typically, the turtles are drawn to the sandy shoulders along the sides of highways and roads, a perfect nest for the eggs' roughly three-month-long incubation period.

"They love this sand that the Department of Transport puts down," said David Olive, a citizen scientistwho has been tracking snapping turtles in Fredericton Junction for 18 years. "They want to get above the flood line and the river to lay their eggs and they also lay along bridges and railways."

Over the years, Olive has kept tabs on severalindividualsnapping turtles in his community. Within a few days, he can even predict which turtle will show up to layeggs.

"There's one here that comes here, every year around the 17thof June," said Olive, who has named theturtle, Queen Diane. "They tend to lay their eggs in the same place."

Cars are killer

However,laying eggs in thewarm sands along roadways can lead to many of their deaths.

"Cars are their biggest enemies," said Doug vanHemessenofthe Nature Conservancy of Canada. "And it takes them a long time to reachmaturity, where they can lay eggs, so when one gets killed on the road, it's abig loss."

Although conservationists recommend helping smaller native cousins, like the wood turtle or painted turtle, by picking them up anddepositingthem on the side they were pointed toward, snapping turtles are different.

"They have a very nasty bite, and a very strong bite," said vanHemessen."And you don't want to get fingers or even bigger bones in the waybecause they can do a lot of damage."

Snapping turtles have been known to amputate fingers, striking well-meaning humans with a dangerously sharp beak at the end of adarting neck thatcan be aslong as their entire body.

"So perhaps it's saferjust to keep watch as they cross roads," said vanHemessen. "And make traffic aware."

Pushing or shoving them across roads with your feet or sticks also isn't advisable, according tovanHemessen.

"Their shells aren't as thick underneath, and with the rough pavement that can do a lot ofdamage," he said.