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She rescues turtle before it can get hurtle

Proper Bostonian reports on the wild turtle (tortoise?) she spotted ambling down Beacon Street near Charlesgate, all by himself:

There were a lot of runners passing by; it was likely he'd get squashed on or run over if he wasn't relocated. Bringing him home to meet the cats flashed through my mind for maybe a second; they have never mentioned any interest in amphibians reptiles, although the kittens have more scientific curiosity than Possum or Wendy. But I didn't see that scenarios ending well.

Finally, I picked him up and carried him to some green weeds under a rosebush, not far from the Muddy River.

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Comments

Aren't turtles reptiles?

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Yep.

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Wild turtles running, ah strolling, ah crawling really slowly, are a danger to the city. They need to be muzzled. If enough turtles go wild they might start eating away the city's grass.

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I once watched from my car a well-meaning woman pick up a huge snapping turtle which was walking along the sidewalk across from Wheelock. She grabbed it on either side of its shell and carried it down to the water. I nearly slammed on my brakes to scream at her to stop before she lost a finger, but then traffic honked at me.

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She seems to know what she was doing. If somebody teaches you how to do this, you aren't in danger.

The real trick is the buggers are HEAVY! Like 50lbs or more heavy. If you can't lift that, don't try.

Yes, I've done it myself - I had a neighbor who taught me how.

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grab it on either side.

Grab in top and bottom, but from the very rear. Otherwise you are likely to lose a finger, and drop the thing while injuring it. Also be ready for poo.

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Out here in the boonies, I frequently run into turtles and always stop to save them, as I'm sure lots of other cyclists do. Hate seeing a smooshed turtle. With snappers, I just pick them up by the tail. The big snappers I'm a little more leery of and just try to prod them with a stick - they're pretty ornery, though.
Last year, there was a big snapper stopping traffic in Westboro that I finally had to pick up - that was a bit scary.....

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'cause she moved it holding it incorrectly.

And from the official website of the MA Dept. of Fish and Game http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/nhesp/conservation/...

"If you must move a snapping turtle, use a broom and plastic tub (or box) to capture them, by sweeping them into the tub. This is the best method because snapping turtles are fast and have very powerful jaws (can sever fingers). An alternative method is to pick them up by grabbing the tail and then sliding one hand underneath the turtle to support the body. Lift it like a platter, steering with the tail. A snapping turtle can reach your hands if you lift it by the sides of its shell, but they cannot reach your hand directly under the shell. Do not lift them only by the tail; that can injure their spine."

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In my cub-reporter days, I once wandered the banks of the Sudbury River in Framingham, trying to find and interview people who were fishing there despite the prominent signs (in several languages) warning not to eat fish from the river (because the sediment was contaminated with 100+ years of mercury and other crap from a tanning factory in Ashland). I found one geezer who was fishing but who explained his technique for getting a snapping turtle ready to take home: You grab hold of your machete in one hand (what? you don't have a machete?), pick the turtle up from the rear with the other hand and then:

SLASH!!!

its head off with the machete. I didn't ask him what happened if you missed - he didn't seem like the kind of guy who missed.

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That's not a snapper, it's a bog turtle. See the yellow dot on the side of its head and the widely spaced eyes? It's barely going to grow wider than the short side of the brick it's pictured on. Lots of them in southern New Jersey where I grew up.

It's cool that she found one in the city, because they only do well in clean wetland environments, so they're considered an indicator species.

Even from a snapper, she was not in danger picking it up from the sides when it's that young - their necks don't get long enough to reach around and bite you till they get older (like >4-6 in). And then the best way is not by the tail, but by the shell right in front of the back legs. That way it can't reach you with its head or scratch you with its back claws. (actually, the best way is with a shovel and a fling! into the distance, but I guess that's not very PC ;)

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