The City of Vaudreuil-Dorion's Public Works Department and Environmental Division installed a cage a few days ago to protect Mimi, the painted turtle, and enable her to lay her eggs in complete safety, at Le 405 park.

The cage will protect Mimi from raccoons and skunks, among others. The cage will be in place until the end of October, as most of the eggs will hatch between late August and early October.

As Amandine Bonet, Environmental Project Manager for the City of Vaudreuil-Dorion, explains, " the turtle is installed in an environment that is conducive to egg-laying - a humid, sunny space.

Ms. Bonet explains the approach taken by their division in such cases: " When a turtle and/or egg-laying site is reported, we notify the Carapace.ca platform, the Atlas des amphibiens et reptiles du Québec and the Haut-Saint-Laurent Zip committee. We also install a special cage to protect the nesting site, as well as delimiting barriers and an awareness poster. The cage will be removed in October. We have 2 cages of this type at the town, and the Haut Saint-Laurent ZIP committee also lends us some if we run out .

Depending on the season and climate changes," continues Ms. Bonet, " we may have to protect more turtles; egg-laying takes place from late May to mid-July, and the babies emerge in September or October.

The town is asking all visitors to refrain from approaching the protection zone unnecessarily.

About the painted turtle:

This is an easy-to-identify species with a smooth, dark back plate and marginal scales marked with red patterns. The plastron is yellow and usually has a dark pattern in the center. The head and neck are covered with yellow and red lines and spots. The carapace can measure up to 20 cm.

The Painted Turtle lives in shallow ponds and small, quiet bays, as well as a wide variety of aquatic environments. It is common and widespread in Quebec.