If turtles go extinct, you can blame us

Stolen photo from a turtle center

Barry was digging in the back yard a few minutes ago, and realized too late that he had just taken out a turtle nest with a swipe of his shovel. Poor mama turtle walked so far to lay her eggs, and now they are ruined (all but one that did not get broken which I grabbed away and reburied elsewhere). He grumbled, "It's probably a snapper anyway." Britta said, "He'll be just like Nemo!"

The turtles come marching up into town at this time of year and dig out shallow nests in sandy dirt, lay their eggs, and scoop the dirt back over top of them. A few days later, the little turtlets hatch out, dig their way free, and are immediately 1) eaten by predators, 2) smashed flat by a car on the road or 3) caught in a lawnmower. Only a tiny number make it to the river wetlands where who knows what happens.