Snapper action

On the way to the store today, I came across a huge turtle making it's way across the road. A minivan coming the other way had already stopped and flashed his lights at me. I stopped and we both watched the turtle slowly cross the yellow line and head toward my lane. Then it stopped.

The guy in the truck behind the minivan layed on his horn, but the old guy driving it didn't budge. Instead he got out and tried to coerce the turtle to continue it's journey across the road. The turtle started to move again, but started to veer along the road instead of across it. The old man gently nudged the turtle with his foot to try to turn it, but the turtle would have none of it. He turned around to face the old man's feet and hunkered down. Now there were about five cars stopped behind the now disgusted guy in the truck and three behind me.

The old man tried another gentle nudge with his foot and the turtle suddenly lashed out at him with snapping jaws. The oldtimer jumped back and the rest of us laughed, safe in our vehicles. After a brief staredown, the old man got back in his minivan and pulled over to the side of the road.

There was enough room for me to pass now so I slowly rolled by. This turtle was bad ass, about the size of a medium-size disc golf bag (think Fade Crunch), and looked pretty pissed off if turtles can look pissed off.

About 5 miles down the road, I saw another smaller turtle starting his trek across the road. So watch out! Turtles are on the move today!



Here's today's PSA, courtesy of Wikipedia (more):

The common snapping turtle is not an ideal pet. Its neck is very flexible, and the turtle can bite its handler even if picked up by the sides of its shell. The turtle can amputate a finger with its powerful jaws. It will make a hissing sound when it is threatened or encountered; however, when in the water and unprovoked, they are fairly docile toward humans.

It is a common misconception that common snapping turtles may be safely picked up by the tail with no harm to the animal; in fact, this has a high chance of injuring the turtle, especially the tail itself and the vertebral column. Lifting the turtle with the hands is difficult and dangerous.

Snappers can stretch their necks back across their own carapace and to their hind feet on either side to bite. Also, their claws are sharp and capable of inflicting significant lacerations.

Snapping turtles have evolved the ability to snap because unlike other turtles, they are too large to hide in their own shells when confronted. Snapping is their defense mechanism.

It may be tempting to rescue a snapping turtle found in a road by getting it to bite a stick and then dragging it out of immediate danger. This action can, however, severely scrape the legs and underside of the turtle and allow for deadly infections in the wounds.