I'm a turtle crossing guard..

While driving along a country road I spied a "bump" in the road ahead. I slowed down and sure enough, the "bump" was moving, albeit rather slowly.
I jumped out of the car with camera in hand and snapped this picture, his/her shell was the size of a dinner plate.

I put my camera down and stayed with this big fella until he made his way across the street and back into the swamp.
I waved off a few cars during his trek across the road and felt good when he slipped into the swamp.

I am a turtle crossing guard.

Gord

Good for you!

Damned good turtle soup there.

Just sayin'.

That's a snapping turtle. So it might have been best to keep your distance. Their necks can be elongated and it might have been able to reach around to bite you if you helped it along. I see box turtles trying to cross the road from time to time in my neighborhood. It's considered appropriate by wildlife rescuers to pick it up and put it where it seems to want to go if the alternative is being crushed by an inattentive driver. I would be very careful with a snapping turtle, however.

Yup, I've read that a snapping turtle is capable of biting a man's finger off.

I hope the OP stopped way off the road; sometimes saving wildlife ends others' lives: http://www.ctvnews.ca …ays-behind-bars-1.2153205

Good work, glad you didn't get bit.

I've seen enough snapping turtles to know to keep my distance.
My safety was my number one priority and I took steps to ensure that but I felt compelled to do all I could to help this guy out.
Thankfully the road I was on is travelled by a few locals, farmers mostly and when they were close enough to see what was happening, they gave the turtle and I a thumbs up.

Gord

Good photo even better story.

Good shooting and good save Gord! When I used to live in Aurora I'd spend weekends up near Dwight and would often see several huge snappers over a weekend. Even saw one depositing eggs in a sandy riverbank once.

Wallace River wrote in post #18038945
Good shooting and good save Gord! When I used to live in Aurora I'd spend weekends up near Dwight and would often see several huge snappers over a weekend. Even saw one depositing eggs in a sandy riverbank once.

I don't know how long it's been since you've been in Aurora but there is still a lot of wildlife photo opportunities in these parts.
I just had to stop and make sure this fella got back in the swamp.

Gord

That is a real cutie, ha. But I think you got cheated because I don't see any leaches hanging onto it. Are it's legs deformed? I don't see any claws. The last one I saw crossing the road looked like a dinosaur as I approached. When it was up walking, the bottom shell was about 5" off the ground. Just curious if it was down that low the whole time you saw it?

Great save, Gord. I remember seeing some of these at the sand & gravel operation where I used to work. Some of them were so large, they would actually block the haul road while they crossed from the swamp to our dragline pond.

Keith Newton wrote in post #18040113
That is a real cutie, ha. But I think you got cheated because I don't see any leaches hanging onto it. Are it's legs deformed? I don't see any claws. The last one I saw crossing the road looked like a dinosaur as I approached. When it was up walking, the bottom shell was about 5" off the ground. Just curious if it was down that low the whole time you saw it?

Hi Keith,

No leeches hanging off of this guy, just a bunch of green slime.
His legs weren't deformed and his bottom shell wasn't that far off the ground when he walked, kind of a short guy.
Here are two poorly taken photos I managed to get in my rush to see him cross the road safely. He does have claws or extra long toe nails.

Gord

philk54 wrote in post #18040195
Great save, Gord. I remember seeing some of these at the sand & gravel operation where I used to work. Some of them were so large, they would actually block the haul road while they crossed from the swamp to our dragline pond.

Hi Phil,

I would have liked to seen those big guys......must have looked like 4-legged, prehistoric tanks.

Gord

Ah Ha, Thanks for sharing those. But, are you sure that little ball looking thing over it's right hip isn't a leach? That is what they do, after the turtle host has been out of the water for a while. I suppose it keeps them from drying out too much.