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Crazy brother (right) of smarter author (left) tries wildlife rescue and lives to tell about it. Male oppossum (lower left) listens with amusement (I did not have a turtle picture)
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Words For Wildlife
by State licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator, James Orr
TURTLE RESCUE... MORE OR LESS
As a cold blooded animal a turtles body temperature equals their surrounding environment. The hotter it is the more active and faster they can react. As it gets cold they slow down and will eventually hibernate if it gets cold enough. Water turtles hibernate underwater. They bury themselves in the mud and breathe through gils located in their tail.
Snapping turtles are the only ones that can really be dangerous to people unless you count tripping over a turtle a potential threat. Alligator snapping turtles are the largest water turtle found in North America, primarily in the South they can reach 300 pounds.
They could remove a limb if you afforded them the opportunity (not recommended unless maybe its a tree limb) They have a small appendage on their tongue that resembles a worm. They hunt by sitting underwater with mouth open wiggling this lure. Any unlucky fish that responds is invited to dinner with the snapper.
My younger brother apparently admiring my animal rescue stories decided to join the cause recently by trying to rescue a very large snapping turtle trying to cross a highway. (I’m the smarter one in this case). He had enough sense to keep his important appendages away from the irritated turtle and did not actually try to pick it up with his hands.
His original plan was to guide the 20-25 pound turtle to safety with a long plastic ice scrape brush. Can you say “HA HA?” The turtle latched on to it in a split second and took it away from my nervous brother. Turtles do not have teeth but they do have razor sharp jaws and can snap a branch or remove a finger as easily as a tree pruning tool.
My brother can be as hard headed as the turtle’s shell and is not one to give up on a cause he believes in. He drove to a nearby produce stand and borrowed a large wood crate used to transport fresh corn. He returned to the suicidal turtle which I suspect probably seemed to have grown in his absence. His plan was two fold, 1. lure the turtle into the corn crate and 2. transport it to a local pond at a state park.
Part one was easier than expected as the monster cooperated by crawling into the crate when it was placed in front of it. Fearing he might loose a finger while lifting it into the car my brother twisted the crate locking wires tightly and rigged a sling out of a blanket to set the crated turtle in the back seat of his car. Did you ever smell a wet algae and sludge covered twenty-five pond turtle?
As my well meaning and self-proclaimed hero brother started his drive to the local park he was proudly thinking he had equaled the supreme skill of his older and wiser brother, me. Can you say “HA HA?
It was about this time he heard the crate start splintering. His smug smile fell off his face when his mouth dropped open and he saw the head of the dinosaur push through the crate slats. As the rowdy reptile began prying his massive body through the broken crate and snapping his jaws my brother revised his release plan rather quickly. “The Park is kind of far, the creek beside the road looks just fine”, he decided as he screeched to a stop.
By the time he got the back door open the turtle was out of the crate and climbing up the back seat upholstery. Did you ever smell a wet algae and sludge covered twenty-five pond turtle? Somehow he managed to roll it out the car and point it toward the creek were it quickly disappeared.
Wouldn’t it be funny if a rabbit had showed up right about then and asked the turtle, “How in the heck did you beat me here?’
Wildlife rescue is a great cause, but be careful and make sure you do not underestimate the strength, stench, and danger a particular animal presents. Wild animals are WILD!
DONATIONS NEEDED If you would like to help any donation amount it is greatly appreciated. Donations should be made out to Witter Wildlife Refuge and can be sent to P.O. Box 1118, Huntsville AR 72740.
See web page under "HOW YOU CAN HELP" for specific ways you can help us help wildlife
