25-Pound Snapping Turtle Struck By Car Saved By Good Samaritan

CALVERTON, NY — A caring Suffolk County SPCA volunteer came to the rescue of a 25 lb. snapping turtle that had been injured by a vehicle Saturday, the organization said.

According to the SPCA, at 8 a.m., Lindsay Grand Zabbia, the volunteer who lives in Yaphank, was riding her bike at Calverton Veterans Memorial Park when she saw the wounded diapsid.

Grand Zabbia said she and her husband Joseph Zabbia were out on the path — she's training for an Ironman and was on a 40-mile bike ride — when she saw fresh blood on the road.

"It was a huge snapping turtle. He probably just got clipped by a car. He wasn't moving; he probably got hit in the head," she said.

But the turtle was blinking and still alive, so she and her husband tried desperately to save him, she said. "We were out in the middle of nowhere on River Rd. so he road his bike back to go and get the jeep. We wrapped him in towels and put him in the backseat."

Grand Zabbia said she contacted Karen Testa, executive director of the Turtle Rescue of the Hamptons, who was an invaluable resource and suggested she take the turtle to the East End Veterinary Center.

Sadly, the turtle was too badly injured and needed to be euthanized.

"It's a shame he didn't survive, but it was so hot out there. We didn't want him dying out there in the heat," Grand Zabbia said.

Testa applauded Grand Zabbia's heroic actions. "After speaking with the vet in charge we both decided the best humane decision was to euthanize the animal. His injuries were too severe — a head trauma and skill fracture," Testa said.

Stopping to help, Testa said, was the right thing to do. "If she had not helped, he would have sat on the side of the hot road, getting eaten by flies and finally passing away after days of suffering. due to turtles having a slow metabolism. Often, euthanizing is considered a 'release' from their misery. He was suffering badly as his head had been run over, but he was still alive."

Grand Zabbia said even though she wished it had been a happier ending, she was glad to have made a difference — and urged others who might see injured turtles on the road to stop and help, too.

"She immediately responded to try to assist and save the injured turtle," Suffolk County SPCA Chief Roy Gross said. "We are very proud of our volunteers. Great job."

Gross reminded anyone who might stop to help a snapping turtle that they do bite, so calling proper authorities to help, or using a towel over the turtle's face while transporting it, are important tips.

Outreach has been ongoing about how to help turtles with cracked shells on the road.

Testa warned in a Patch post this April that just because a turtle's shell is cracked when he's lying broken on the road, doesn't mean he's dead.

Around May 1, turtles who have been in hibernation come out slowly and begin to sun themselves.

Turtles, she said, are cold-blooded animals and cannot move unless they are at optimal temperature; unlike humans and all mammals, they cannot self-regulate their body temperatures and must receive heat from an exterior source. Without heat, their blood doesn't circulate and they can't digest, she said.

Turtles, Testa said, are mighty and majestic — they have survived 220 million years and have been on the earth since there were dinosaurs."They're amazing creatures," she said.

At the end of April, female turtles, both water and terrestrial, begin to look for nesting sites.

"That's why they are roaming around, looking for the ideal spot. Sometimes it takes hours," she said.

Turtles feel with their back legs whether soil has drainage because they don't want the babies in the nest to drown, should there be rain, Testa said.

But despite their innate intelligence, turtles, she said, "are not smart enough to know that roads are there. They were here before the roads, so roads don't compute. There were no roads 220 billion years ago."

To that end, turtles are often struck by cars on the road. Last year, Testa said, about 180 turtles were brought to the Jamesport facility, with about 95 percent rehabilitated and set free. Some who are blind or have lost shells remain at the facility for their own safety, she said.

Often, Testa said, individuals might see turtles with cracked shells on the road and think they are dead — not true.

"They are always still alive," Testa said, adding that the goal is to get the turtles help and determine whether they can be saved — and to relieve terrible pain and suffering.

"The shell is like a skull, a broken bone that feels pain," she said. If a turtle is left to suffer on the road, it can take about four days for it to die, in horrific agony.

"They suffer in pain while flies eat them alive. Please don't turn your back on them," Testa said. "Call for help ASAP. Time is of the essence."

Testa urged anyone who finds a turtle to call the police, animal control, a local wildlife rescue — or, to slide the animal into a side tipped box and bring it to the nearest 24-hour emergency vet for free.

"Be prepared. Be careful. Call to see who treats reptiles, as not every vet does," she said. Turtles may need to be euthanized, or need pain medication.

And, she added, more often than not, the turtles can go on to be rehabilitated and set free — just like the turtle in the photo shown. Some heal so completely a crack is no longer seen. "You will have saved that life," she said.

Just last month, in the happiest of endings, a turtle who spent two years in rehab after he was injured by a propellor strike, was released by the little boy who saved him.

To find wildlife rehabbers in the United States, click here.

If you find a turtle on the road, call the 24-hour hotline, 631-779-3737.

To donate to the Turtle Rescue of the Hamptons, visit their website or Facebook page or send to Turtle Rescue of the Hamptons, P.O. Box 5, Jamesport, NY 11947.