Submitted by Bill & Lynda Levesque
Two residents in the Riverfront Community backing onto the Mississippi River in Almonte have big caring hearts when it comes to protecting all creatures great and small. On June 7th/22 a snapping turtle decided to make her nest on a construction site adjacent to the riverfront park next to a driveway where she laid 37 eggs. A couple concerned for the safety and well-being of the unborn turtles called the Canadian Wildlife Federation where they were directed to Dave ‘The Freshwater Turtle Specialist’. This man arranged to pick up the eggs the following day June 8th and took them to their facility in Kanata where they were placed in an incubator.
Dave called the same homeowners on August 13th to tell them that 36 of the 37 eggs had hatched. At that time he made arrangements with them to return the turtles to be set free in the environment from where they had come. On Tuesday, August 16th Dave, his assistant, the homeowners, and several of their neighbours proceeded to the riverbank and bid the wee turtles farewell.
I was fortunate to witness this act of kindness and commend the couple for taking the time and making the effort to ensure the turtles a safe passage.
P.S./FYI…..there are another 32 turtle eggs safely in the backyard of the same couple and are expected to hatch in approximately 2 weeks when they will be gently transported to the riverbank.
