The Critter adventure
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Yesterday was one of those days!! The dogs were out back enjoying the nice warm day. They can usually be found resting in one of the two dust bowls they have created next to large trees that they seem to be trying to dig up. I couldn't see them and so I went out into the yard to make sure they weren't into any mischief. Much to my surprise, I found them making dive-bomber attacks at something that was stuck between the bottom edge of our wooden privacy fence and the ground. There was a dug out area under the fence and it was unclear as to who dug it out…my dogs or the critter. I shooed the dogs away (and they weren't too keen on being shooed away!) To my amazement the critter was a large turtle and it wasn't just any turtle, it was a large, angry, frustrated SNAPPING turtle! :eek::eek::eek:And it was wedged firmly under the fence. I put the dogs in the x-pens, gave my 2 little grandsons a snack to keep them occupied, and went out side to do my good deed for the day. It took some doing but with the help of a little garden shovel and a towel to protect my hands, I was able pull him out. He did not assist my efforts and managed to get quite a foot hold in the dirt! When I put him in a bucket to show my grandsons before releasing him, they asked if they could pet him. I took a small stick and poked the turtle with it and it easily snapped it in two with its sharp mouth! The amazing thing is that neither dog suffered any injury! They were really digging and diving in at the turtle and the turtle was stretching out its neck and really snapping at them. He was doing his best get those noses. We have a large ditch behind our fence to reduce flooding during heavy rains that occur at high tide. I think he climbed out into our neighbor's unfenced yard and then stupidly decided to dig and go under the fence into our yard. The dogs were more than happy to help him dig through. I released him back into the ditch.
Pat
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Wow! A snapping turtle!? Good thing you caught it before it could do any damage! I let Tayda and Lenny out last night after it was dark and they immediately went into chase mode. I didn't get a clear look at what they were chasing - I suspect a rabbit… They ran into the corner of the yard where I couldn't see, but the thing escaped....
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Don't have turtles in Idaho, but other nasty things. I was walking with my pack in the foothills and a coyote popped up over the ridge. It surprised all of us. Mahendra was out front and he was the first to encounter the 'yote. Both of them froze and were checking each other out, wondering what to do.
Fortunatly, Mahendra charged and the 'yote ran off.
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I'll take an encounter with a snapping turtle rather than one with a coyote! :eek: I know I can out run or at least handle the snapper. We used to have several box turtles residing in our yard and that would cause friends to drop off odd turtles (including a Cooter and a Terrapin) that they found….leaving us to figure out where they needed to be released. Even so, this was the first snapping turtle that I've seen outside of an exhibit. I was impressed with its size (it almost filled a plastic wash basin) and I was impressed with how far it could stretch its neck and bend it toward its rear end. It was also very impressive seeing how the two dogs handled the attack by quickly attacking one at a time. The turle never got a bite on either one of them and the dogs were unrelenting. One would dive in and when the turtle whipped its head around to snap at that dog, the other dog would dive in. It was exactly like watching the meerkats on Meerkat Manor attack a snake.
Pat
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a COYOTE????? yikes…
