Opening the nondescript white refrigerator in the office of the Maine Wildlife Park in Gray, one would expect to discover the usual assortment of bagged lunches and expired yogurts.

Not so in this office, in this refrigerator.

The small interior light of the kitchen appliance casts a warm glow on white-topped plastic containers.

Organized neatly on the shelves, they are labeled with their content: wood #1, 2, and 3, and box #1 and 2.

There are five turtles that are endangered (the box turtle) and of special concern (the wood turtle) sleeping the winter away in the office refrigerator at the Maine Wildlife Park.

Mark Jordan, game warden in charge of the turtles’ care, explains.

“All turtles hibernate,” says Jordan. “It’s nice for them to live as natural a life as possible, even in captivity.”

Because of their status, the wardens will not leave the wood or box turtles out in the elements.

So as the temperature gets closer to the lower 40s, Jordan will pull the wood, box, Blanding’s and spotted turtles from their outdoor pond and place them indoors.

The park’s painted turtles stay outside year round because they are common and do well burrowing into the silt of the pond.

And the aquatic turtles at the Maine Wildlife Park, such as the Blanding’s and the spotted, stay awake year round. 

“Once we figure out a safe way to hibernate a Blanding’s, we’ll try it. But we don’t want them to die; especially because they are endangered.”

Since the wood and box turtles are terrestrial, meaning they spend more time on land, the game wardens know more about their habits and feel safe sticking them in a refrigerator.

Before the boxes and woods are put down for the winter, though, they are prepared for the many months ahead of low heart rates and low metabolism in a large tank.

They are fed a lot of meat, allowing them to gain weight before hibernation.

After they naturally have covered themselves with moss for about a month, they are transferred to the fridge where the temperature is maintained between 50 and 45 degrees Fahrenheit.

They are covered in moist ground covering consisting of such things as leaves and moss, and left to sleep in a fridge.

Every couple of weeks, Jordan checks the temperature of the refrigerator and does a quick examination of the eyes, skin and heft of each turtle.

He wants to keep things as controlled as possible without disrupting the slumber of the hibernating turtles.

“That wood turtle is a light sleeper,” explains Jordan. “She wakes up every time the light goes on.”