Submitted by Howard Owens on May 21, 2012 - 10:55pm
Driving down Creek Road this evening, I saw something head of me in the road. As I got closer, I thought it might be a turtle and just about that time, a car coming from the opposite direction was stopping.
John Volpe jumped out of the car and scooped up the snapping turtle and carried it over to the side of the road.
Volpe then called his father and told him about the turtle, which he said had a slight deformity in its shell and might be a female.
He told his dad his location and said he would wait for him.
Volpe explained to me that he and his father often rescue turtles. He said they would take the turtle home, ensure she (or he) is healthy. If healthy, and a female, they would hold her until she laid her eggs, then release her back into the wild, then raise the babies.
"Turtles mean a lot to us," Volpe said, who is Native American.
When his father arrived, Mary Volpe jumped out of the minivan and grabbed the turtle's shell from behind and carried it over to a plastic carry-all.
John seemed pretty knowledgeable ... and his instructions for picking up a snapper -- back of the shell ... be sure you get the shell.
He said one mistake people make is to grab their tails, which is part of their spines, so you can actually break a snapper's spine and paralyze it.
Another option is to carefully run your hand up the middle of the shell (tail toward head) and grab the shell just behind the head.
must be migrating season for turtles - across roads, anyways - last week there was one in the road on Knowlesville Road out here in the Alabama swamp - - I didn't know how to pick one up like they did - - I had a sweatshirt in the car that I threw over the turtle, so it's head was covered and it couldn't see me, and then picked it up with my hands on either side of the shell and put it in the grass on the side of the road. Now I know how to do it if I don't have a sweatshirt in the car !!!!!
Way to go "Big Tree"!!!! lol.....Miss you JOHN!
This is really neat. I had a pet snapping turtle as a child and it brings back fond memories. Good on ya, John.
Those cows look like a captivated captive audience!
That turtle has been spotted crossing that stretch of road in the springtime for years. I hope it is returned to the pond it came from.
Thanks Howard!
DANGEROUS......AND NO ONE WAS WEARING A TETHER!!!!!
And no safety vest, no hard hat, no safety goggles, no kevlar gloves, no hand sanitizer, no oversight committee, no planning board, no engineering department, no traffic cop, no safety cones, no permit and lastly, he's smoking a cigarette. What is this world coming to?!
Doug you made my morning. Thanks for the laugh.
Copyright © 2008-2012 The Batavian. Some Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service
Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license.
Contact: Howard Owens, publisher (howard (at) the batavian dot com); (585) 250-4118
The Volpes were brave to tackle a snapper. One that size could easily nip off a finger or a chunk of flesh. Thanks to the Volpes for rescuing her!