Rescued a little hatch-ling from the road!!!

IBeenEasy

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HEY GUYS!! so yesterday, me and my girlfriend are driving back from a buddies house, we are doing about 40 mph on a back road, area is somewhat wooded, but definitely no ponds or lakes in the area. So were driving, and to my surprise, me and my girlfriend, (probably the only people in a 100 mile radius that would even do this ) , see a tiny little hatch- ling run out right into the street directly in front of our car. thank god it was Sunday, because during the week days, on this road, the little guy would have been road kill. but i screamed "TURTLE!!!!!!!!!" lol and my girlfriend swerved to the side of the road like she was Paul walker, i jumped out of the car, my girl friend pulls up the road to turn around, next thing you know, there's two cars coming right in the little guys direction , so i start running as fast as i can, the turtle is now right on the yellow lines in the middle of the road, cars about to go right past him, im running up the road, dodging poison ivy, all of a sudden the little guy stops right on the yellow lines, the two cars slowed down to look at what i was doing on the side of the road, i waved for them to slow down, thank god the little guy did not get hit, he walks right over to the side of the road, and im sitting there thinking, where the hell is he going, there's no water any were near here. Im also wondering where did his mom come from ? lol. so i picked the little guy up, he was slightly larger then a just out the shell turtle, i'd say he was about a week or two old, but he was bone dry, and very dirty, you can tell he had not hit any water since hatching , and there was not a pond, river, or lake in sight (or any were near, at least for a few miles, and he was going in the wrong direction lol) , so i picked the little guy up, my girlfriend swings back around the road, and picks me up, he pee'd on me once i brought him in the car (not so much fun lol, and smelled quite a bit ) but he had these beautiful eyes, and he was actually very friendly for a wild hatch-ling. he didn't really try to nip at all. but i work at this building that was not to to far from where we found him, and behind my work, there is a nice little pond / stream, that i see turtles in all the time (painted's , snappers) so we got to my job, took a look for a nice spot to send him off to his new life , he stumbled down the slope, and plopped into the water, and started swimming like he should have been =) . now he wont ever have to worry about cars again, the spot i relocated him is very safe, has a great amount of plant life, small fish, bugs, and plenty of other turtles, so i think he should do just fine. this has actually been the 3rd snapper we have saved or relocated away from roads and streets, and we have also saved a hand full of frogs one rainy night , when 5 bull frogs decided to use a main road as a resting spot lol, so this was a big accomplishment , and im glad god put us at the right spot at the right time. shouts out to my love Alicia, who was just as much a help with her nifty driving! 0629141759a.jpg image03.jpg image04.jpg
 

Yvonne G

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Aw Mikey: By golly, we've got our own turtleman, right here on the Forum! Good save. At that size I'm really surprised you could see him.

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IBeenEasy

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i know Yvonne! i was shocked i even saw the little guy!!! you know what it was , it was his speed, he blended right in with the pavement , but i just saw this thing run so fast into to the street, and it took me a mil-a-second , but i put two and two together , and i was like TURTLE!!!!! LOL
 

tortoisetime565

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A snapper!! We found one when we cleaned our pool and we let him go in our creek. They can get huge!! Thanks for saving that innocent turtle!
 

alysciaingram

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Here in Florida turtles try and cross the road all too often, especially during laying season. I've got cardboard cat carriers in my trunk now so I can snatch them off the road and rehome them safely, then toss the cardboard. Momma gets a nice spot to lay and live in my giant lake, and babies get a safe place to grow up. Win win!
It's nice to see a great rescue story! Good job guys!
 

kimber_lee_314

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Great save!!! Thank you! It's always nice to hear that there are still good people in the world today. :)
 

IBeenEasy

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thanks guys! it makes me really happy that you guys are just as happy as i was to save that lil guy!
 
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