Outside the Battery Maritime Building in Lower Manhattan.
Linda, a turtle fan tells me:
The consensus on Turtle Rescue of Long Island message board thought it might be a red-eared slider of some sort — albeit a dirty one — because of what little bit of color you can see on the bottom of the shell under it’s neck and around the edges. The other theory was a diamondback terrapin who swam up from the south jersey coast. But most likely it is a slider. Red-eared sliders (usually abbreviated RES) are extremely common and often dumped because they get too big and people don’t know what else to do. Here’s the website of a rescue organization that gives advice for trying to rescue RES. It might not be so easy. As for whether he needs rescuing, I have no idea what to say, RES are freshwater turtles, and I have no idea what effect brackish water would have on them. And it’s definitely a male. Females don’t have those long nails. Chinatown markets sell live RES as food and sometimes they get away.
More on Linda’s blog post: Turtle Sighting in Lower Manhattan
Comments (7)
Oh man - what a great thing to see in NYC!!!!
fabulous
I used to be good at IDs but no clue what this is - unless a dirty wet Box turtle.
Yeah, I was surprised to see it there as well. That’s a mix of salt and fresh water down there, isn’t it. Maybe fresh isn’t an adequate descriptor.
I fear him. And love him. And then fear him again. It almost looks like he has two heads, or a head and a half. What a wild find!!!
Yeah, cute but not cuddly, Meadaura.
I aim to please, M.
Holy $hi†is that funny… I just guffawed at work. Loudly.
(and I’m still giggling to myself…)
The turtle has been positively identified. It’s a melanistic male red-eared slider. http://www.chelonia.org/blackmale.jpg
So, definitely a slider and definitely a fresh water turtle. A friend in Houston TX says they are very common down there.
Here’s the blog post this picture inspired.
http://truffles-turtles-tunes.blogspot.com/2008/06/turtle-sighting-in-lower-manhattan.html