In turtle rehabilitation, snappers come and snappers go. They are frequent fliers when it comes to road mortality, and it’s the lucky ones that end up here, because the odds of their recovery are good if they get help. They are survivors.
It’s easy to become fond of these ancient animals. Working with them day in and day out you get to know their mellowness. They are old souls; you can see it in their eyes when they look at you. And they do look at you—with pleading, sorrow, defiance and the simple acknowledgement that passes between beings. But to do this work one must adopt a mantle of objectivity. You can’t let every tragic case get to you. Thankfully, the sheer volume of intakes thickens our skin.
Every once in a while, however, a snapper arrives that has been so ill-treated by humans that it’s hard to bear. On August 9th of last year I got the call about a female snapping turtle that had been beaten by a fisherman hoping to kill and eat her. He failed, but not by much. By the time he gave up and tossed her onto the rocks, she was broken and unconscious.
Not surprisingly, it can be tough to find people willing to transport snapping turtles. But when the call went out for help with this one, the response was overwhelming. The public was incensed at this flagrant abuse of an innocent animal, and calls for the abuser to face legal consequences erupted in the online community. Rescuers spoke to the police but, to anyone’s knowledge, no charges were made. With so many serious and intentional crimes against animals to pursue, it’s not surprising that wildlife law enforcement would let slide a guy trying to secure a meal from an animal that can be legally taken in Connecticut.
The turtle spent the fall and winter as one would in a hospital bed, waiting to wake from a coma—alive, but barely. Then, one day, while doing rounds of the overwintered patients, I arrived at her tank to see her looking up at me. Hallelujah.
When snappers come back from deep trauma, they often literally snap out of it. Overnight this resilient female regained her consciousness, healthy appetite and mobility. Although her hind legs remain compromised, she is as fully functioning as a snapping turtle needs to be. And on May 27 a small crowd of neighborhood guardians and a family of Canada geese welcomed her home.
It was tough, returning her to this urban place, where litter is pervasive, water is shallow and human access is encouraged. Just watching her hobbled crawl down the bank between mini bottles and debris was heart-rending. She could have been released in a less public spot up or downriver. But I believe that we owe this handicapped girl familiarity as well as freedom. It’s impossible to know how the trade-off will play out; will the advantage of not having to navigate a new, “safer” place outweigh the disadvantage posed by returning to the scene of the crime, where people who see snapping turtles as commodities are always a threat?
There’s no way to know. But questions like this dog me forever, especially when it comes to turtles like this one, who’ve stolen my heart. I can only heal them and send them off with fingers crossed for a long, peaceful and productive life. After what she has suffered, this turtle certainly deserves it.