Update: Even though good-intentioned and we moved it just a short distance back to the riverbank should have left it alone, it could have been nesting.
Every living creature is special, and if we could, wouldn’t we save each and every one of them? One afternoon near Missoula, Montana the awesome teen and I got to play animal rescue and set this little guy or gal back on their life journey.
We visited Missoula last Fall and one afternoon sitting outside in the sunshine I spotted something scurrying a little bit away; looked closer and realized it was a turtle. A turtle!
|
|
I believe it is a Western Painted turtle – and is’t it gorgeous!
What the heck was this guy or gal doing here, I wondered, a block away from the river and heading into town (not many turtle nests there I don’t think), not back to its habitat areas.
It was a hot day, I put it in the bathtub with a little water and waited an hour or so for the awesome teen to return.
|
|
The two hit it off, as I knew would happened. After admiring the beautiful design and snappy, smartass disposition while throwing around few names of turtle species wondering what this one was other than cute… the awesome teen took it to the river and set it free.