Why Did the Turtle Cross the Road?

Photo from Massachusetts Department of Fish and Wildlife

...I don't know, but he was headed toward the Montessori school, so I'm sure they would have given him several options to choose from. Yes, the turtle really was headed toward the school, but happened to be smack dab in the middle of the two yellow lines on a busy roadway when another driver and I stopped to rescue him. Not sure why he was headed to school, as he was coming from the direction of a perfectly good wetland, but perhaps he sensed some higher calling-it happens to the best of us.

My turtle identification leaves a little bit to be desired, and as it turns out, there are lots of options for these parts. I narrowed it down to a few possibilities and after figuring he/she wasn't a snapping turtle, it seemed a Northern Red-Bellied Cooter (Pseudemys rubriventris) was the next best thing, since not much else gets to the size of this one (~12" from stem to stern, of the shell, that is). Since these guys take 15-20 years to reach maturity, I would guess this one was pretty old. Also, as it turns out, this species is listed as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act--hopefully safe passage to school will yield fitter offspring, but I'm not really sure it works that way in the turtle world.

At any rate, it was a good wildlife sighting--especially on the way to work!

And, once I again, "I like turtles!"