Over the course of April, Avery and I have rescued 5 turtles from meeting their demise by something even their tough shells can’t withstand; cars. Texas has been fortunate enough to have lots and lots of rain so far, but this tends to bring more wildlife into the busy streets as they try to cross over to another safe-haven.
We’ve rescued both baby and fully grown terrapins and felt great knowing their life is at least prolonged just a little longer. Sadly, we also found many we couldn’t get to in time as they already met with their round rubber assassins.
My heart sinks a little each time I see one of those tiny turtles flat on the road. Unlike their bigger counterparts, they look like nothing more than a small stone to drivers. But, how about we focus on what we can control, like moving the living turtles off of the road.
I shared all but one turtle rescue on Instagram, but want to bring them all together in one post on my blog. But, before we go through each “saving”, I need to say something….
Happy 23rd Birthday Preston!
(aka Brother/Uncle P)
Yep, today, May 1st, is my little bro’s birthday. I don’t get to hang out with him that much, but need to have another night where we go enjoy a few craft beers. Avery also doesn’t get to see him as much as since the last picture we have is from Christmas.
We’ve seen him more recently than that, but never took a picture. Look at how much Avery has changed in just a few months, yikes!!
Anyway, Preston, if you’re reading this (I’ll also call you since that would be the brotherly thing to do), lets find a time to meet up so I can buy you a round of beers for your birthday, mmmmmmkay?
What better way to commemorate Uncle P’s birthday than to go over the turtles we’ve rescued last month? After all, his gamer tag/name on Halo, which we used to play ALL the time, was Turtle. It only makes sense, right?
1. The first one was a baby water turtle (actually, all of these are water turtles) that we found on our afternoon walk (again, all of these were found on one of our daily walks). This guy stayed with us for about a week before I realized I had no idea why I was keeping it, so back to the wild next to a serene creek bed he went.
“Lyle Leo” was supposed to be “Little Leo”, for Ninja Turtles, but stupid auto-correct wins again! Maybe that’s why he paused before heading off to find his family.
2 & 3. Then we found a mommy or daddy turtle with its little one. They were next to the curb, but trying to get to the other side of the road. Abby stood guard as I helped them cross.
4. This was a quickie rescue mission for another baby turtle. I saw, I picked up, I carried to a nearby lake, I forgot to take a picture. Instead, here’s an old pic of our escapee pet box turtle, Tash, from a year ago. This is when we first introduced Avery to my favorite creatures and G-Ma was there to help.
5. And the last one, saved just this past Wednesday, was the biggest turtle I’ve seen in our neighborhood to date! I had to put the mean snapper in a box and it literally weighed about 10 – 12 pounds!
I even caught video of the release. This is not the kind of turtle you want to pet. Avery walked right up to it and I had to grab her fast just as he snapped. Phew, close call!
Who knows what May will bring in terms of animal rescues? But one thing’s for sure, we’ll be there, walking and looking to help out whenever possible!
Do you encounter certain wildlife in your area often?
Do you or have you ever had to rescue an animal around your neighborhood or anywhere else?
Woah that’s huge snapper! Glad he didn’t get a hold of one of Avery’s digits. That’s pretty noble of you to help any errant turtles find safety. I can already foresee Avery’s first pet now. Better start shopping for aquariums!
Yeah, I used to shoot these guys at my ex-step-dad’s mom’s ranch. I guess this is kinda of like making up for that time. Yes, Avery will definitely have a pet turtle, but not a water turtle. I’m partial to box turtles, and we’ll keep it outside in a built up area like the last two. Just have to do a better job to be prepared for flooding!
Dude, you’re like the Turtle Whisperer!
Those snapping turtles always looked prehistoric to me and they are the reason why I won’t ever be noodling. I enjoy my fingers! 🙂
The funny thing is that I really don’t like the water turtles all that much. I’m a lover of the land dwellers like box turtles and tortoises, but I guess I have a place in my heart for any of the terrapin species. 🙂