A neighbor found this snapping turtle in her yard and asked me if I would bring it back down to the wetland about an 1/8th mile downhill behind our property. Unfortunately, that property behind us is nearing being bulldozed and developed by a large builder. (The worst! - landscapes raped and regraded, trees clear cut, wetlands destroyed and cheap “executive style” vinyl-sided houses built for stupid, tasteless consumers).
Even though wetlands are supposed to be protected, we all know they’re not. It’s just a big joke. They somehomw don’t always appear on the surveys, and developers (who commission the surveys?) will fill them or drain them and build on them, and nobody’s the wiser - wink, wink, nudge, nudge.
In the next months, there will probably be hundreds of displaced wildlife coming into peoples yards - (the stupid ones freaking out and calling the village or the county and complaining), and crossing roadways. So unfortunataly, we’ll be seeing a lot of roadkill. It’s always kind of sad - very sad actually - when a wild place is developed, and the animals have nowhere to go.
In fact, it makes me very angry. I wish I could do more. My activism is starting to move more in that direction, but I’m just so frustrated and tired realizing that nothing I ever do really makes any kind of difference.
Anyhow, so we drove over the Stickney Run, part of the McHenry County Conservation District, and released the turtle there. That way it at least has a chance.
What a marvelous animal! Very prehistoric looking. So awesome, I wanted to keep it as a pet. But of course, that’s not possible. And they do have a nasty bite. I don’t need to lose any more digits.
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