Grandma and Grandpa visited Red Runner Farm for the 4th of July back in 2017. We were getting ready to go to a holiday party when I noticed something odd by the driveway. It was a HUGE snapping turtle!
We noticed the poor guy’s shell was cracked near the middle. Maybe a car drove over it at some point? We love wildlife on our property so we decided to encourage the turtle to take up residence in our pond.
Grandpa volunteered to carry the turtle to the pond. Upon further research, this was a terrible idea. You should never pick up a snapping turtle. They can reach their powerful jaws all the way to the back of their shell. Grandpa was lucky that he didn’t lose any fingers.
Several years passed without us catching even a glimpse of the snapping turtle. We assumed the turtle decided it didn’t want to live in our pond and had moved on.
Until this week! Becca caught a glimpse of the turtle in the pond. Its shell was covered in algae. I poked it gently with a stick. It poked its head out and swam away.
The next day we went out to look for the turtle again but couldn’t find him. He is just too well camouflaged. But we are excited to know that he found a safe home to live in!