Today I had a very fun morning thanks to my friend
Fritzi.
Last week, Fritzi told me about a free program that was
scheduled today by the Turtle Rescue League (click on the green words, if you want to learn more about them). They are based here in New England and
located in Southbridge the town next to where we live. The
program was basically a Turtle 911 class.
It covered what to do if you see an injured turtle, if you see a turtle
digging in your yard, if you see a turtle in the street and if you see a baby
turtle.
I was pretty sure I would enjoy learning more about turtles,
which to me are some of the coolest creatures on the earth, but I was
unprepared to be so totally engaged by the presentation. We learned a lot of facts about the turtles
that are residents of Massachusetts, but we also got to see a lot of them up
close. And that was fantastic!
Here is a Painted Turtle. They are pretty common around here. When Olive, the pug, and I walk down to see
the horses, we often stop by the Turtle Pond to watch them sunning on the logs
and rocks there.
This is an Eastern Box Turtle, a less common
turtle than the Painted Turtle. He has
protected status in all the New England States.
And here’s the much misunderstood Common
Snapper. This young turtle (whose name I
can’t remember. Sorry, Turtle!) was
raised by the folks at the Turtle Rescue League for the purpose of education
and seemed very comfortable with the people in the room. She sat and watched us watch her for a while.
Then I guess she got sick of looking at us and
did an about face.
We were told the proper way of handling a
Snapper. It’s easier than you think and
can be done very safely. They are not
nearly the scary turtles I always heard they were.
We got to see a very small baby Painted Turtle…
 |
| This is a poor picture, I know, but I was impressed by the small size of this little fellow. |
…and turtles in various stages of rehabilitation, most of who
will eventually be released into the wild.
I was so impressed by the knowledge and enthusiasm of Alexxi
and Natasha who are the principal staff of the Turtle Rescue League. I would like to thank them and their
volunteers again for the tireless work they do for these special creatures.
I promise to put together a turtle rescue kit for my car. I must say though, helping a turtle cross the
street is one thing. I’m not sure how I would react if I ever found a turtle
who has been hit by a car. I hope I
would have enough pluck to do what is necessary to get the turtle safely to the
folks at the Turtle Rescue League so that they can nurse it back to health or
in a worst case scenario, humanely euthanize it. On the bright side, they actually harvest
eggs from mortally injured female turtles and have released very many of the
surviving turtle babies back into the wild.
And that is just so cool!
You know, it’s very uplifting to meet people who are so passionate about nature, even this small, but important, part of it!
PS. I am informed by my friend Diane O-J who accompanied Fritzi, Fritzi's daughter Emily and me to the Turtle 911 class that the Snapper's name is Nibbles. I can't believe I forgot that because just last week I was doubled up with laughter at this video of Joey Votto (of the Cincinnati Reds) being interviewed on Fox Sports. If you watch it, you will see why.
PS. I am informed by my friend Diane O-J who accompanied Fritzi, Fritzi's daughter Emily and me to the Turtle 911 class that the Snapper's name is Nibbles. I can't believe I forgot that because just last week I was doubled up with laughter at this video of Joey Votto (of the Cincinnati Reds) being interviewed on Fox Sports. If you watch it, you will see why.
