Turtle Crossing

This little fellow was saved by me today from a very busy four lane road. Across the street from Green Cay is the Palm Beach County Water Utilities complex. They have a lovely little pond with a trail around it that I use as a track after work. I guess this little dude wanted to get from his pond to our pond. At first I thought it was a leaf or insect but then I realized it was a turtle and straddled him with my car tires. Luckily, he made it across two lanes but then hit the concrete raised median. I quickly parked in a safe spot and ran back about 50 yards. The whole time cars and trucks were whizzing by.

If you're wondering what type of turtle this little dude is then you need to look at the underside of the marginals. When the black spots have light colored spots inside they are Florida Cooters (Pseudemys floridana floridana), but if you have solid dark spots like our little turtle here then you have a Peninsula Cooter (Pseudemys floridana peninsularis).

I took the turtle back to Green Cay and deposited him in the wetlands. Of course I took a few photos first and showed him off to the rest of the staff. Sometimes there's a happy ending to a precarious turtle crossing. I hope our new turtle is finding a nice home at Green Cay.