Rain brings out rarely seen reptile

By Aaron T. Bruckart
Herald Staff Writer

SHARON June 29, 2006 08:31 pm

— Recent storms in the area brought not only rain, hail and heavy winds, but also an unusual visitor.
Yonshalae Powell, Jessica Deeter and Brian Waybright, three Sharon children, found an eastern spiny softshell turtle Wednesday in an alley near Orchard Street. Waybright even carried it from the alley to a wading pool at his home.
Cyndi Sankey, an agent with Humane Society of Mercer County, said Waybright broke rule No. 1 by picking up the turtle.
“The safest thing to do is not to handle it,” she said. “Get an adult and, if in doubt, call the police or the Humane Society.”
Ms. Sankey said the Humane Society isn’t certified to handle non-domesticated animals, but they have contacts who would be able to take care of something like the rarely seen turtle.
One of the children’s parents did call Sharon police, who relayed the find to Animal Advocacy of Mercer County.
“I’ve picked up several snapping turtles before,” said Gerda Widmyer, founder and director of the agency. “But never anything like this.”
Through her research, Ms. Widmyer said, she found the turtle is native to the area, but rarely comes out of hiding. It also can act aggressively.
“They can get pretty nasty,” she said.
Ms. Sankey echoed her comments.
“They’re lucky they didn’t get bit,” she said of the children. “They (turtles) bite hard.”
Though unsure of where exactly the turtle came from, Ms. Widmyer said it came out of hiding because of the rain.
“They wander around because of the rain,” she said. “Usually after a lot of rain is when I get the call for turtles. They try to get to higher ground.”
After learning that the turtle is native to the area, Ms. Widmyer released it near Shenango River Lake.
“I just take it away from the public and get it back in the wild,” she said.

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