#Turtle of the Week

Please send me pictures of your animal saves (they don’t have to be turtles) so I don’t feel like I’m the only one out here saving the world.

I came across this little snapper in the right lane of Route 140 in Upton, Massachusetts. Cars weren’t slowing down, although people did seem to be trying to avoid hitting him. He was bleeding from the mouth and seemed to have given up on moving, but his shell was intact and he could move his head. I had a shoebox and my handy-dandy, reptile-handling gloves (well, actually, my mother’s) and, after enraging a long line of cars by standing in the road with my hand up, scooped him gently into the box. There was no easy access to the pond where he was headed, so I relocated him to one in my neighborhood. He may not make it, but if he doesn’t make it, the last thing he knew was a human kindness, and that’s good enough for me.
Stats for the day: Me, 1; Death, 0.

FUN SNAPPING TURTLE FACT: The temperature at which eggs incubate determines whether the hatchlings turn out male or female. Hotter nest, males; cooler nest, females. Source: Connecticut.gov