So I took the dog for a walk and found an Eastern box turtle 'stranded' in the school yard. The not so little turtle was banging against the fence attempting to be on it's way, but the chain link was unyielding. So, out of the goodness of my heart, I carried him home, intending to take him to the local natural area which includes sandy areas, plenty of vegetation and a pond.
First I showed him to my daughter (okay, I admit, I was hoping she would want to keep it as a pet
). I placed the turtle in the birdbath
in case it needed a drink. Oh, it perked right up and looked very happy.My daughter took photos of the turtle while I ran home to get ready to drive him or her to a new home. I did not realize that my daughter had gone back into her house. When I returned no more than 1 1/2 minutes later...no turtle...huh? Where did it go?
We searched high and low and found it nowhere. So either it made a bold leap from the bird bath to the ground (a good 3 foot drop onto either a hard landing on the concrete patio or the soft landing in the potted mint and/or rosemary plants) and scampered away or it was snatched up by a passing hawk, eagle or the Mississippi kite that hangs out near our home.
Thus ends the story of the turtle.
I'm sorry; I forgot to add that my daughter is so smart she told me that in 455 BC a man named Aeschylus was killed when a passing eagle dropped a tortoise on his partially bald head. You watch TV; you learn stuff!
in case it needed a drink. Oh, it perked right up and looked very happy.My daughter took photos of the turtle while I ran home to get ready to drive him or her to a new home. I did not realize that my daughter had gone back into her house. When I returned no more than 1 1/2 minutes later...no turtle...huh? Where did it go?
Thank you @Gleni for adding to my wealth of knowledge by supplying the name of the bird - Lammergeier. Up until now the only information I had came from television - Horrible Histories, Stupid Deaths: