Imagine you are small. The world is vast, full of dangers and
obstacles, and you are driven by instinct. But your habitat is
shrinking. Where once you could move freely, unfamiliar
obstacles now hamper your travels, presenting new kinds of
predators evolution hasn’t equipped you to deal with. A wide,
black plane lies between you and your destination, and you have
no choice but to cross it, even as a non-stop flux of giant,
unrelenting beasts race across your path; in front and behind
you, deathly unaware of your presence. You can only cringe back
in your shell and hope it will protect you. You are an average
North American box turtle, and you need to get across the road.
Missouri’s temperate, humid climate is a haven for reptiles, not
least of which are 17 species of turtle who have particular
trouble crossing motorways. Not only are turtles iconically
slow, but they lack the ability to hop curbs and dodge traffic
like some more agile mammals. Dr. Brice Hanberry, a researcher
for the University of Missouri’s