While at the UQ campus, we found this little guy wandering around a bus stop and drawing quite the crowd. Poor thing. He was walking in circles and looking quite lost. On top of that, there were lots of buses coming through the round-about and sooner or later some unsuspecting bus driver was bound to hit him. Many were dodging the guy but he would be pretty easy to miss if there hadn't been such a crowd. On top of that, everyone just watched and it seemed like people were waiting for him to get hit.
*Enter super hero Kortney*
I've got a pretty soft spot for animals and seeing this guy lost and trapped beneath a curb on a busy bus spot broke my heart. I worried that he would bite me but I decided saving his life would be worth the bite. So I started trying to move him. First I kinda herded him to the curb in hopes that he would crawl up and over but the thing was just too high for him and he crawled into his shell, scared of the person towering over him. Then I tried picking him up but I really was scared he would bite me and he started rocking back and forth with his head inside. (Did I mention he had SUPER long claws?) But then, the light bulb came on and I decided to use my bag. I had a large over the shoulder bag with me to carry my camera stuff so I emptied it out and used it to scoop the little guy up. It was perfect! Comfortable for him, safe for me and only the bag got dirty! I moved him a couple meters away from the car park and next to some nice, big, deep grass near the lake. Mission accomplished. One turtle life saved.
I honestly felt so proud of myself. So many people are too afraid to touch wild animals and often do terrible things to them out of fear. I was reading an article the other day about a new state of the art animal hospital at Australia Zoo that takes care of any animal by any means possible. One person interviewed told some pretty gruesome stories about people hitting kangaroos on purpose, about a baby koala that was kicked around a construction site like a football (it died at the hospital), and a guy who found a python and dumped paint remover on it to kill it. Of course that didn't kill it but started burning the poor snake's skin; he immediately saw the pain it caused and rushed the snake to the hospital. The python spent 10 weeks there having his skin cleaned each day. Now, even I don't like snakes and it's on a VERY rare occassion that I will say, "Poor snake," but that's pretty cruel. Animals have feelings too. I wish there was more I could do for all those helpless animals... But at least I'm doing something.
If you see an animal in the road or an abandoned baby, please don't leave it. Do something. Call someone.
4 comments:
Way to go sista! Did
Jeremy get this on video? I can just see you out there emptying your bag of stuff and slipping this big guy in there. How big was this turtle? weight? He looks pretty good sized. Kudos!!!
I am seeing lots of talk about animal love. Have you ever thought of a second career in animal advocacy or working at a zoo, or something? I could see you doing something like that!
OX
Yay, Kortney! He's one lucky guy. Glad that you were there to save his day.
Yeah, I have considered vetrinary medicine... I'm still looking into it but would love to work with animals. :)
As for the turtle, he must have weighed 12 lbs or there about. He WAS big! Such a funny long neck too! hehe.
Yeah Kortney, You are in Australia and you saved your first animal, andyour pictures are beautiful aswell. You should see about a job at the Zoo. Maaybe ???? I wouldn't be brave enough to touch a tiger or a little turtle. Have fun...love mom
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