Fig. 29. The movements of a gravid female of T. o. ornata in the southern ravine area at the Damm Farm in a period of ten days in June, 1956. Her movements were, for the most part, in and around several ravines (shown on map by broken lines) where she was searching for a nesting site. For explanation of symbols see legend for [Fig. 28].
Homing Behavior
Gould (1957) reported that 22 of 43 T. carolina moved in a homeward direction when they were released in open fields up to 5.8 miles from their original points of capture. Turtles oriented themselves by the sun; homeward headings were inaccurate or lacking on overcast days and, light reflected from a mirror caused turtles to alter their courses. Seven of ten turtles released more than 150 miles from home headed in directions that corresponded most nearly to the headings last taken (at release-points near home base) and did not necessarily correspond to the direction of home. Gould's studies point out that box turtles perhaps practice a kind of "solar navigation." His work raises the question of whether the movements of box turtles are guided by the sighting of local landmarks or whether such landmarks alter the course of movement only when acting as barriers.
In the present study two experiments were made to determine the homing ability of T. ornata. An adult male, taken from his normal home range in the house pond area and released 1200 feet away in the southern ravine area, traveled a generally northward course (not northeastward in the direction of home) for five days, moving a distance of approximately 1900 feet. His detached trailer was recovered several days later 740 feet southeast of the last known point in his travels (a distance that could have been covered in two days) and 150 feet from the point of original capture; he had returned to his home range by a circuitous route in a period of approximately seven days. Another adult male, captured in the southern ravine area, and released in the house pond area 1900 feet away, traveled on a course that bore approximately 25 degrees north of true homeward direction; after five days he was approximately 600 feet north of the original capture point. He then began a northeastward course that took him back to the house pond area where he remained for several days; no further data are available for this individual. It is significant that the homing males discussed above traveled greater average distances per day (based on records for nine days of trailing) than any of the other turtles studied ([Fig. 27]). Fitch (1958:101) released an individual one half mile from where he captured it and, one year later, recovered the turtle near the point of release.
Social Relationships
Ornate box turtles are solitary except during periods of mating. Meetings with other individuals in the course of foraging, basking, or seeking shelter, are fortuitous and have no social significance. A broad overlapping of home ranges of both sexes at the Damm Farm suggests that box turtles do not intimidate other individuals in the home range or exclude them from it. No instances of fighting were observed.
Allard (1935:336), Perm and Pottharst (1940:26), and Latham (1917) recorded instances of fights between individuals of T. carolina; in the latter two instances fights were between males. Stickel (1950:362) observed an incident between two males that may have been a fight; however, she was of the opinion that fights rarely occur in nature and that box turtles do not defend territories. Evans (1954:23-25) considered the behavior of T. carolina reported by Perm and Pottharst (loc. cit.) to represent "territoriality." He found "… a true hierarchy…." existing between four captive males of T. carolina and another between three captive females of the same species; young individuals in the group raised their social level in the hierarchy after receiving experimental doses of male hormone. Evans (op. cit.:25) pointed out that true tortoises (family Testudinidae) have a more complex pattern of social behavior than do emyid turtles.
Observations made with binoculars from the vantage point of a blind provide the only information that I have concerning the reactions of box turtles to one another under natural conditions. Turtles foraging in a bare area were not startled by the approach of other turtles, and turtles moving across the area seemed to take no notice of turtles already there, regardless of whether these turtles were moving or not. Adults and subadults behaved in approximately the same manner.
Individuals traveling or foraging in rough terrain or in grassy areas probably are unable to see each other even when they are close to one another. Conversely, box turtles can see each other and are surely aware of each other's presence in bare, flat areas. These facts suggest that no social hierarchy exists in T. ornata. On one occasion an adult male and a juvenile (hatched the previous autumn) were found foraging next to one another on the same pile of cow dung.