I ran across two interesting animals today.
This morning, while biking to work, I came across a giant snapping turtle who was in the process of crossing Airport Boulevard.
I considered helping it across the road so it wouldn’t get hit, but because it was a large turtle, finger-amputating size, and because I remembered all the stories my uncles would tell about how snapping turtles could reach around and bite you even if you were holding it by the back of the shell, I thought I would let it fend for itself. I can’t imagine its journey went well. It was heading in the exact opposite direction of water.
Then, while on break from work, I spotted a parakeet in the parking lot. It was a tiny little thing, wading through a chest-deep puddle. It couldn’t fly, and was way too small to amputate my fingers, so I caught it and put it in a box.
Either it was too injured to resist, or it was very tame, because it would perch on my finger and let me pet its belly with my thumb.
Nobody responded to the craigslist ad for a lost parakeet. I thought about keeping it, but it’s already found a home.
Maybe with proper training, the snapping turtle would perch on my finger.
