Strolling with a Turtle

 Sometimes (OK, often) I really love the people I work with.

After we finish making the animal diets, the volunteers pile feed buckets onto a wagon and go to feed the animals closer to the kitchen area.  We are followed shortly thereafter by a keeper or two with more food in the golf cart to take to the far side.

Today, as we were heading towards the deer habitat, one of my co-workers suddenly gasped and said "Look - a softshell!"  Sure enough, there was a large soft-shelled turtle coming out of the woods.  We were a little concerned; they are strictly aquatic turtles and she was at least 100 yards from any water.  But she seemed unconcerned as she came down to the path and started walking at a determined pace.  In a few moments we heard the golf cart come up behind us, and they also stopped to watch her.

So there we are, five people (who all get to have their lunch as soon as the animal food is delivered)  and a golf cart, slowly following this turtle down the path.

In theory, we had options.  We could have moved her off the path ("she" because a soft-shelled turtle that far from water, on higher ground, was probably laying her eggs).  Or gone around her.  But moving her would have been harassing her.  And we didn't want to leave her, because the museum is open now, and we have guests - and we didn't want random guests bothering her.  And we also didn't want anyone discovering that, while not as bad as a snapping turtle, soft shelled turtles have a helluva bite.

So we all just strolled down the path, five people, a golf cart, and a turtle. She was actually walking much faster than you would think a turtle would, and obviously knew where she was going.  In a few minutes she turned off the path and bulldozed her way down the hill to a holding pond - and we could head off to our lunches.