Posts Tagged ‘Interstate’

Road Warrior: Eastern Box Turtle Strolls Down Interstate

Monday, September 15th, 2008

Jon Pope, owner & proprietor with his wife Michelle of Uncle Jon’s Coffee Houses, encountered an exceedingly strange sight as he dropped off Interstate I-195 onto Route 105 in Marion, Massachusetts.  Traffic does, indeed, slow down quickly as one enters this sailing hamlet on Sippican Harbor.  So, Jon is used to breaking hard in transitioning from Interstate to sleeping village.  In this case, though, he got behind a four-legged rather than a four-wheeled entity.  Jon jumped out of his car and rescued a male adult Eastern box turtle strolling down the off-ramp.  As much surprised as Jon, this road warrior took an instant liking to his new two-legged friend.

Jon Pope Admires Rescued Male Eastern Box Turtle

His shell records a series of human encounters, none as pleasant as today’s rescue by Jon.  Most of the forward marginals, the outer ring of small scutes rimming the carapace (top shell), have been broken off completely.  His rear marginals are nicked and chinked so much that they seem like serration. 

Lots of Dings and Chinks along the Marginals of This Road Warrior

With his handsome red eyes, manly tail and plastron (bottom shell) concavity, this veteran road warrior exhibited all the traits of an exemplar male Eastern box turtle.

Male Eastern Box Turtle

Tonight we’re puzzling over an appropriate home to release our new reptilian friend.  Clearly, the Interstate Highway System isn’t a safe habitat.  He’s been lucky to have survived this long.  So, we’ll be investigating potential Eastern box turtle habitat in the SouthCoast area.