WHIG-STANDARD (Kingston, Ontario) 25 June 04 A tale of two turtles (Jo-Anne Parker)
In an area near the Frontenac Mall, I recently saw a mommy turtle about one foot in diameter beside the place where she'd laid her eggs. She must have already had one batch of babies because there were broken shells just past where she was sitting in the path. When I returned to go to my car, the turtle had turned around to face me.
I won't say exactly where this place is because it's like a sanctuary in the city and I doubt the residents want traffic there.
I had the misfortune to see another turtle a bit later that day in the middle of the right-hand northbound lane of Sir John A. Macdonald Boulevard. It was approximately the same size as the turtle I'd seen near the Frontenac Mall, but this turtle was nasty to look at. Its shell had been neatly split in two by an automobile's tires and its entrails were visible. It's head had been smashed as well.
This turtle was in the middle of the road. The motorist who hit it could have at least passed over it between the wheels, it as I did. The motorist must have known he or she had hit something because it was a fair-sized turtle. Maybe the driver needs glasses, or maybe the driver aimed for the turtle, which would be morbid in my eyes and in the eyes of any other animal activist.
Luckily, I carry shopping bags for this very purpose. I had a difficult time scooping the turtle's broken body into the bag. I left it in the long grass along Sir John A Macdonald Boulevard.
My advice to the driver who hit the turtle is, learn to drive.