Gathering the Web

My family had two red-eared turtles, Frieda and Ferdinand, for thirty-six years. They lived in a plastic child's swimming pool in our backyard. Thirty-six years is an average life span for red-eared turtles. We assumed they would eventually die of old-age. Instead, last November, my Dad found them out of the pool and lying on their backs. He rescued them, but saw that their front legs were missing. They could barely walk. We were all aghast at their situation and perplexed. What had attacked our much-loved turtles?

We didn't have to wait long to learn the answer. That evening, in the darkness, a raccoon crept into our yard and approached the pool. He staked it out and prepared himself for another meal. That is when my Dad looked out and saw him. Dad rushed outside, grabbed the turtles, and brought them inside. The raccoon boldly stayed by the pool and was occupied for several minutes. Then he wandered off.

If the turtles hadn't been so horribly injured we would've been excited to see a raccoon in our yard. It was a first for us and we didn't know they had ever been in our neighborhood. Skunks and opossums inhabit our yard, but not raccoons. We put Frieda and Ferdinand in my bathtub and ran some water for them, then pondered what we should do next.

The next day, Mom made numerous calls before she found a vet that could help our turtles. Most veterinarians don't treat turtles or even euthanize them. We knew they needed to be euthanized. It was the compassionate thing to do. Mom finally found an exotic animal hospital in nearby Chula Vista and made an appointment.

The veterinarian told my Mom our turtles' sad injuries are not uncommon in San Diego. Ever since the devastating fires of October 2003, raccoons have been coming into the suburbs to find food. Turtles are easy prey. Frieda and Ferdinand could have survived, but we knew it was time to say goodbye to our beloved pets. We will remember them for a long time.

Links for you:

• First, I will focus on links pertaining to wildlife. The San Diego firestorms of 2003 displaced raccoons and other wildlife and sent them into our neighborhoods. Even mountain lions have been sighted close to human dwellings. Several websites are dedicated to helping us avoid human/animal conflicts. The Humane Society of the United States has worked since 1954 to protect animals from all forms of abuse. In order to coexist peacefully with wildlife it is helpful for us to get to know our wild neighbors. The HSUS takes a closer look at many of the species that are a part of our lives. Another quality site with a similar purpose is Living with Wildlife, created by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
• Project Wildlife, a San Diego based non-profit organization, provides care for needy wild animals. "Each year, Project Wildlife gives a second chance to over 11,000 wild creatures. All types of wild land and sea birds, as well as wild land mammals, can be helped by Project Wildlife." Visit their website for more about living with "our furry and feathered friends" and for guidelines about the temporary care of wildlife. For more about wildlife rehabilitation, you can also visit the website of the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council.
• In the 60's or 70's my father subscribed to National Wildlife and my brothers received Ranger Rick as a gift. I loved to pore over the photos in both magazines and read the articles in Ranger Rick. It's been a long time since I saw either of these magazines. Thankfully, the National Wildlife Federation has a beautiful website, eNature.com, which has a vast article archive where you can read some of the best nature writing available. The site offers field guides for more than 5,500 species. You can learn what species are found in your "neck of the woods." Save online lists of your sightings. You can send free nature ecards to your friends or download a screensaver for your computer. Be sure to visit this site.
• NatureServe Explorer is an online encyclopedia of more than 65,000 plants, animals, and ecosystems found in the United States and Canada. InfoNatura is a database with more than 8,500 species found in Latin America and the Caribbean.
• The best zoo in the world, the San Diego Zoo, has fun to read Animal Bytes. These are essays about animals and the lands they inhabit. Take a look at the 'bytes' about turtles and the Galapagos tortoise. San Diego has one of the largest captive colonies of Galapagos tortoises in the world. They came to the zoo in 1928 and are now well over 100 years old. When you visit San Diego, be sure to spend at least a day at our beautiful zoo!

• The World Chelonian Trust is a rich source of information for turtle lovers or those who are interested in turtles and tortoises. A similar site is kept by the California Turtle and Tortoise Club. They both have care sheets and lots of articles in their archives.

I will write a separate post about wildfires. This is fire season in the West, so it's a good time to learn to protect ourselves from the threat of fire. I was going to include some links with this post, but decided the subject needs its own entry.