Ugly Animal Rescue Inc.

It was barely over a month ago that I (with the help of a neighbor) rescued a turkey vulture caught up in some fishing line across the street from my house (see "O Ugly Bird," March 25, 2024). Today, it was a big ol' snapping turtle* out in the road in the wilds of Guilford County, NC. I'd had a doctor appointment during the morning, and then friend Scott (a.k.a. Diefenbaker) and I spent a good portion of the day geocaching around Burlington. On my way home, I took one of the backroads to replace one of my caches that had gone missing, and very nearby, I happened upon the critter pictured here. It was a great big 'un — over two feet from snout to tail. And, oh my lord, how very unhappy! Aggressive as hell, and those jaws, had they snagged one of my fingers, would have taken it clean off. Still, it didn't appear inclined to get out of the road. So, I presented the end of my hiking stick and let it bite the tip. Its jaws locked on, and so I was able to lift it and carry it well out of harm's way.

Now, I don't know whether yon critter stayed out of harm's way, but I hated the idea of a vehicle smushing it, whether inadvertently or on purpose. Anyway, I did what I could, and I hope it's still out there going about its turtle business in relative safety.

Anyway, Ms. Brugger said I should start a business called Ugly Animal Rescue since seem to have a knack for it. An idea to consider.

*When I posted the photo on Facebook, there was some disagreement over whether this was a common snapping turtle or a musk turtle. Now, I've seen plenty of musk turtles around, but I've never seen one that looked — or behaved — like this critter. This one's shell wasn't ridged in the way of most snapping turtles, although it did appear jagged around the back edge. At no time did it release any of the musk that annoyed musk turtles usually do. So, based on its behavior, its general physical characteristics, and how it compares to the images of snapping turtles in NC vs musk turtles, I've gotta go with the common snapping turtle. Whatever type it was, had it gotten hold of my hand during all this, I'd be in one helluva bad way right now.

O Ugly Bird

Well, here's something I don't get to do every day. A little while ago, I saw down by the creek across the road a turkey vulture hung up in something, struggling to get free. I grabbed my machete and folding knife, went down there to check it out, and found that the bird's legs and one wing were tangled in fishing line, which was dangling from a tree. About then, Dr. Joe Keiper, who works at the Virginia Museum of Natural History here in town, happened to be driving by, so he came down and, with a forked stick, was able to keep the bird pinned so I could cut the fishing line. The critter was pretty well exhausted, I think, so it lay there calmly as we worked. Together, we managed to get all the fishing line untangled and removed. Birdo flies off like nothing ever happened.

Damned ugly fellow (the bird, not Joe), but I'm very glad things ended well enough for it.