Finally, our turtle rescue from two months ago is complete! Fifty-eight days and hundreds of kilometres later, The Turtle, captured June 2nd with a nasty tail injury, was released back to the swamp wilds of Rondeau Provincial Park, July 31st.

This big male snapper has spent the last 2 months at the Kawartha Turtle Trauma Centre where the expert care of veterinarian Dr. Sue Carstairs and an incredible team of volunteers has brought him back to health. Except for having a shorter and much whiter tail than normal, he’s ready to get back to business as a wild turtle. This weekend, Christina picked him up from the KTTC and brought him to Toronto, where Ashley was waiting to take him back to his home. Ashley continues the story from here…

With the help of a volunteer I carried him to the release site. While we were walking, The Turtle’s mood shifted from calm to energetic. Whether he became agitated or excited, I’m not sure, but the closer we got to his home the more aggressively he tried to escape the box we were carrying him in. When we finally got there, I removed him from the box and walked him down to the water, with him snapping at me all the while. The last I saw of him was a flick of his big white tail splashing the surface as he descended into the water deep.”

Many thanks to everyone who helped with the rescue, rehabilitation and release of this snapper – we are all thrilled that he is back in the wild where he belongs!