Yesterday was a Tail of Two Common Snapping Turtles:
Does DEC need/want to know where turtle clutches are laid? It does
not look like the Common Snapper is on NY DEC's Endangered or
Protected list.
1st Turtle was near Baldwinsville NY next to the Seneca river.
I was driving on Rt 48 and saw this big turtle in the middle of the
road. It was a very busy road.
I turn the car around and parked to see if I could get it out of
the road before it was run over.
There was already a woman there looking for a big stick - which she
found.
I went to get my camera and as I can back she had gotten the turtle
to walk out of the road.
We could see that she had laid eggs right next to the road, but not
far from the river.
The woman left but I was still worried as the turtle was originally
going the other direction and I was sure it would try going back
across the road.
Now this was a Snapper - a Big snapper. her shell is about 14
inches long. I later saw just how large her mouth was!
Now I was wearing sandals with exposed toes and I had no experience
with a snapper!
I had a rubber coated metal pole that I used to try to get her to
move - Boy she can snap!!
I also had a large plastic bag that I tried many times to get her
into.
When I 1st went to pick her up well to the back she tried to get me
to stop with her sharp claws and I did stop.
I tried to shoo her into the bag - no go.
I then tried to flip her over into the bag - Man she can flip back
over fast!!!
finally after about 45 minutes of fartsing around I did pick her up
and put her into the bag enough and then put the metal bar thru the
handle of the bag and carried her over to the other side of the road.
At 1st she just sat there, but shortly she started to walk along
the road and it look like she would go back to the other side!!
But after about 10 feet she turn into the weeds and made her way
into the swamp on the opposite side of the road than where had laid
her eggs.
How many more years will she be able to do this without getting
killed?
2nd turtle
As I drove home on rt 89 just south of May's Point in Montezuma
there was another turtle just a little bigger than the one I had just
rescued.
This one though was bloodied all along its back as well as its head
and not moving much at all.
Fortunately there was a woman there and her son who had already call
the police who then called DEC. She said DEC was on it ways.
I was glad not to have to stay long with this poor turtle. I can
think of no way that it would live.
Now - Does DEC need/want to know where turtle clutches are laid?
It does not look like the Common Snapper is on NY DEC's Endangered or
Protected list.
I was sure a cop would come by and I would be ticketed for handling
the turtle - But I did not care as I did not want her to get run
over.
It was way busy with traffic - difficult for even human to find
enough of a gap to walk quickly across the road let alone Mario! (That
is what the 1st woman called the 1st turtle after seeing how 'fast'
she walked! :)
I guess the 2nd turtle answered one of my questions: can a turtle
survive being run over? No!! Too Bad.
