Local Menagerie

Within our daily exercise routine, we have had several instances of coming across animals going about their early-morning business, often in a way that might put them in danger.

We found a turtle in the middle of the road one morning riding along Evergreen on a trip home from the park of the same name. It (I have no idea whether it was male or female) was a sun turtle - not a snapper - and was a long way off from any noticeable water source. We hesitated as to whether to put the turtle on the side of the road toward which he was headed (which looked completely bereft of water), versus the side it had come from (which had scarce but observable water). We opted for the water side, hoping the whole time the turtle would not reprise the trip across the road, thereby again endangering itself.

The week prior, we had seen a family of wild turkeys crossing the road at Giant City State Park. The mother (we assume) crossed first, followed by 8 little ones, with the father (again, a guess) bringing up the rear. They were slow crossers, and we sat in the car at the foot of a hill, continually looking back to see if any cars were approaching and silently urging the turkeys to move faster so as not to endanger our own little family set on doing good and being helpful to the turkey family. They were quite majestic all in all... a rare and special sight.

Today we were surprised to see a mother doe and her fawn along Sycamore... a rather busy thoroughfare even at 6am. The mother bounded across first, luckily missing the cars, and her fawn seemed to get stuck on the same side we were on... wary of crossing and unable to reconnect with his/her mama. We were torn between waiting around in case we might stop any cars not able to see the baby deer before it bounded out... versus moving on in case we were the problem - making the mama and baby feel unduly scared and skittish, creating a scenario in which they were more likely to get hurt. We ended up moving on.

Every encounter with an animal now - particularly those in situations wherein they might get injured or killed - reminds us of a situation back in Chicago that has left us both feeling a bit scarred. We came upon a cat in a parking lot who had been hit by a car. We called animal rescue - who said they'd be there "as soon as they were able" and waited approximately 2 hours, all the while attempting to keep cars away from the cat and ensure no unobservant drivers unwittingly hit the cat again.

Which is exactly what happened eventually. The driver being so unobservant as to stop directly upon the cat while I screamed at him to move, and the cat screamed in pain. It was truly terrible.

Although that sorrow was difficult to experience and is something we will never forget, I think it left us more aware of the animals around us and even more willing to help in whatever way we can. Thus, we have had the joy of seeing many wonderful and unusual creatures closer than one might expect given our environment... and our day is brightened by each encounter.