Close Call on Church Road - Mt. Laurel, NJ
N 39° 55.654 W 074° 58.050
18S E 502777 N 4419718
A big old Eastern Box Turtle was slowly trudging across the road when I suddenly recognized the situation for what it was and screeched to a halt, running out onto this busy road and stopping all manner of traffic!
Waymark Code: WM6PKN
Location: New Jersey, United States
Date Posted: 07/02/2009
Views: 12
Truly a harrowing experience. The shoulder was not big enough to accommodate my car but I scrambled out, camera in hand, old shirt in the other. As I ran back toward the reptile, a car did not heed my frantic waving and defiantly sped past, narrowly squishing this common species into oblivion. I crossed my arm over my face before the almost moment of impact and was relived to find the turtle had survived. Other cars understood my pleas and stopped, dutifully, as I scooped up the turtle in my shirt and raced over to the curb and dropped him in the neighbors lawn.
<"justify">I felt it was finally safe to begin snapping pictures to document and record my event and to also get this elusive waymark. I have rescued many turtles in the past including an irate snapping turtle older than me but never had the presence of mind to take a camera. As I took pictures, my car still sticking out, I realized this was not the home of the turtle. I turned around and saw a nice swatch of woods where this fellow ought to be. I scooped him (her?) back up again, the boxer not happy at all, fighting me all the way, and returned him to the woods, dodging my own cars on the way.