Turtletat-1

My affiliation with STAR has given me the opportunity to see many, many turtles. Of course none of these animals would receive the "Healthiest Reptile of the Year" Award. Other than abandoned pets, unhealthiness is the reason they're at STAR. Short ones, Tall ones, Fat ones, Tan ones. Often too many turtles at STAR.

Many are quite battle damaged as a result of their inevitable collision with man kind and his contrivances. Lawn mowers, cars and pets can have a negative impact on the life of our average Box Turtle. Some are even hurt intentionally, with one turtle's shell being bashed by a very troubled human with a hammer. Some of these extraordinary creatures succumb to their injuries, but many do survive as a result of the STAR volunteers rehabilitation efforts, and these lucky ones are released back into the wild.

When the research for TAT-1 started, plans called for a small outdoor sand box size pit with an aluminum pan to service water needs. Simple, right? The plan took on a life of its own. Volunteers with building materials got involved and the concept evolved into the "Hoover Dam" of turtle habitats. Six weeks later we had the waterfall , pond, irrigation equipped and landscaped TURTLETAT that is the same square footage of a garage, can withstand a Category 5 Hurricane, 7+Quake and a Level 8 Turtle Cataclysm, (that being a Raccoon Raid!). There are electric lines, switches, pumps and controls. It is a veritable Club Med of turtle habitats. Finally it was proclaimed ready and we introduced four, very hurt, long term rehab turtles, and they settled in quite nicely.

There was Tripod, the three legged turtle, Chewy, a little girl turtle that a dog mistook for a chew toy, Big Momma, a turtle older than I and perhaps stronger and another gentleman turtle that could not stop eating!

The first day I was a nervous wreck. I bombarded the Internet with questions. However day 1 was uneventful as was day 2. On day 3 the fearless foursome decided they were expert rock climbers. They were scaling near vertical walls of rock that lead to the top of the waterfall like a K-2 climb at Everest! I watched this spectacle with another volunteer, Mark, who, by the way is partially responsible for this runaway project.

The big female lost her grip and tumbled back down. I was horrified as Mark calmly stated in his British accent, "Do you think they have rescue turtles in the wild mate? This is why they have shells."

After the fifth day I realized what characters these little tanks are. They really do have their own, distinct personalities and I imagine I can see little smiles on their faces, but I do spend a lot of time in the sun.

As other rehab turtles heal, they will move into the Turtle-Tat and live in comfort and safety for their remaining period of convalescence. This year we realized how well our Tat was designed when I found our "October Surprise" A 1-inch addition. A baby Box is found near the Tat's pond trail! There is a majesty associated with his appearance and it underscores what a good job was done on the Tat! It's true success and was made possible by the contributions and efforts of people like you. Everything from wood to plants was donated, as was hands on labor. It's good to know that together, we can make things a little bit nicer in our troubled world.

September 21, 2008

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