Wood Turtle (6/17)

Driving home from Helen Carlson I spotted a turtle making its way across the road. There was no traffic so I put my hazard lights on and got out of my car to help it. To my surprise it wasn't a common Painted Turtle or Snapping Turtle but rather a rarer Wood Turtle. Praising my luck, I picked him (?) up and moved him to the grass by the side of the road. He clammed up for a few minutes but finally became comfortable enough with me to start walking away. But, he started back into the road and walked parallel to traffic. I watched both directions hoping that he would pick a destination and I could move him over.

Finally, a local drove up and explained to me that there were a number of Wood Turtles in the area and that they liked living in the nearby fields. He moved the turtle out of the road again and put it on his Aunt's lawn. I took a few more shots in the mid-day sun and then watched as the turtle lumbered off.