I rescued a snapping turtle last September.
I pulled him from the mud when they drained Rainbow Res on September 9th 2009. I only wish I had taken a picture of myself, Mud all the way to my knees. I raised him for 8 months.
The gulls ate the rest of the hatch I’m sure.
He’s grown three times his size since I rescued him.
Well today is the day to bring Bernie mack to his new home.
Loaded up my W300 and Headed for Bernie Mack’s New Home.
I placed him in an area with a lot of bugs and larva in the rich moss like weeds. Plus, he can run down some good size minnows. He’s mean as a snapper, I’m sure he’s feeding well.
Now he’s adding a new gene pool to his new home. 2 large snappers have died in there in the past 2 years.
I wanted to mark his shell, but then that could have made him a target for anything that might want to eat a turtle still his size. The snowy egret would snatch him up in a heartbeat.
By next season, his only danger of being eaten, would be from raccoons, foxes, yotes or Man.
Hopefully, I’ll see him again some day, big and fat, like a manhole cover.
Rox
I like this story, and it shows that anglers care about wild life and the environment.
April
Actually, anglers love nature and care a lot about the environment. This is especially true for those of us who fish from small, human powered boats.
FW
Fishing is all about nature and the elements. It’s much easier (and cheaper) to buy fish in a store…
Graham
Nice rescue Rox. You’re right he would have been lunch if you had not picked him up for a human home based head start. We have a number of locals here in NE Florida who are descendants of folks who landed here hundreds of years ago. To them any turtle represents a nice meal. Until Florida tightened their regulations years ago those folks even consumed sea turtles. In fact turtle stew was a staple at church suppers since the meat was free. I’m sure your little buddy was quite happy to be with a conservation minded angler.
Last spring I was raking my lawn and uncovered what I thought was a quarter sized little stone. I picked it up and realized it was actually a little slider turtle hatchling. I brought it inside out of the cold and placed it into a bowl of warm water to see if it was still alive. After a few seconds, a little head and tail popped out and it started to swim. We named him ‘Timmy’ and fed him tiny pieces of turkey lunch meat. In July I finally let him (or her) go in the pond out back. He had actually doubled in size by then. I actually kind of miss the little guy (or gal). My grandkids still talk about him (or her). A really nice shared experience!