Ever since my grandfather bought me a red eared slider when I was eight and my parents were away (he also sent me alligators from Florida - but that's a story for another day), I have been fascinated by turtles, lizards, snakes and snails. For ten years I taught "From Snails to Whales" at Boston University, focusing on native and invasive species that live on and around Boston Harbor. But that's also a story for another day.
When I was in college (for about ten years - but that's a story for another day) I kept snakes, snails, lizards, and the occasional exotic bird as pets, which I now know is a terrible idea - bad for both the animal and the environment.
Over the years I have been involved in a number of efforts here in Boston and elsewhere to remove invasive species from the environment. I have helped remove invasive vegetation from the Boston Harbor Islands and invasive Lionfish from the reefs off Miami. (They are delicious, by the way.)
I was part of the successful effort to contain the Giant African Land Snail outbreak in Miami/Dade, and am also certified to remove Burmese Pythons (which I once kept as pets) from the Everglades as part of the annual Florida Python Clallenge.
And, I am proud to say that I helped protect the Kahelelani snail on the island of Niihau off Kauai, and to stop the Navy from bombing Nomans Land Island off Martha's Vineyard, which devastated the endangered turtle population and bird colonies that make it such an amazing place.
However, these are all stories for another day, which I intend to share from time to time on this blog.
Today I no longer keep turtles or any exotic creature as pets. Instead, like my friend the comedian Steven Wright, who keeps his extensive collection of sea shells scattered on beaches around the world, I leave them where they are. Instead of capturing and caging them, I follow and photograph exotic creatures in urban environments, here in Boston and in South Beach, which I hope to visit again as soon as the pandemic - and hopefully Ron DeSantis - have passed.
However I still have a soft spot for injured or abandoned turtles. Over the years I have rescued about a dozen, including alligator snapping turtles, eastern box turtles, and spotted turtles, which I have nursed back to health and released near where I found them, giving them a second chance to survive.
In June I was sitting on the deck of the Verandah at Constitution Marina as the skies cleared after an intense summer storm, pretending to be interested in yet another zoom meeting. As I scanned the water looking for bait a tiny freshwater turtle that had been washed out of the river clinging desperately to a piece of floating debris somehow caught my eye.
He was headed out to sea and certain death, so I grabbed a telescoping net and scooped him up, to discover that his eyes were caked with salt and mud, and that he was barely breathing.
I quickly performed turtle CPR (Yes, its a thing!) rinsed him off in warm fresh water, and nursed him back to life. He spent the summer recovering on the Verandah, and is spending the winter with me in Brighton. In the spring I intend to return him to the Charles River, to rejoin his turtle pals and resume his turtle life.
That yearling turtle, which we call TB12, is actually a non-native species - part of a thriving colony of yellow bellied sliders that has been reproducing in the Charles since the 1950's.
In early September, after another intense storm, one of the kids at the marina brought me a recently hatched turtle the size of a quarter which had washed up on the seawall. It was completely caked in salt and mud, not breathing, apparently dying or dead.
Once again, I performed turtle CPR, and I am pleased to say that Junior, who is a native eastern painted turtle, is fully recovered and eagerly awaiting his imminent return to the Charles as well.
The two of them live in separate tanks for now. You can keep an eye on TB12 and Junior on TurtleCam 2022, and enjoy a live stream of their release in the spring.
TB12
Junior
