Turtle news!!

Ber got an e-mail from Martin Woess of the Prospect Alliance about the turtles - he's the guy driving the Lake Mess Monster, pulling the island, etc., in other posts. Well, I'll just quote him:

"Not all the turtles that are out of the water need putting back. It’s egg laying season and most are off to dig a nest and unless they are in a bad place should be left to their own devices. Also there are some large snapping turtles on the move and encounters with them can be dangerous. They must be handled in a particular way to avoid injury. I have known people to lose fingers, chunks of arms and hands."


good to know, although we haven't heard of anyone getting bitten yet, but inquiring minds want to know how to tell the difference between snapping and non-snapping turtles. Also, how to figure out if a turtle is stranded or nest-building. We have to assume that when a turtle is in the middle of the Nethermead, far, far from water, baking in the sun, it needs to be rescued. Perhaps in a shaded area, no so far from the water, it doesn't.

'''''' Pause for research

You handle a snapping turtle by picking it up at the rear end, using one hand or two, depending on the size. One hand with the tail in between the fingers. Two hands: one on either side of the tail. Apparently they can reach back half the body length to bite you. Also, they seem to start biting right away - no laying in wait to get you. As a precaution, we will now pick up all turtles as if they were snappers.