Something Wild: Sy & Fire Chief, the 42-lb. snapping turtle

“In many cultures, the world is built on the back of a turtle, including in North America, which was Turtle Island, according to the native people. They know stuff.” That’s New Hampshire author and naturalist Sy Montgomery. Recently, the Something Wild team got to hang out with Sy and the animals she loves in Hancock, N.H.

This is our series: “A glimpse into the heart, soul, and science of animals with Sy Montgomery.” We’re sharing some of the wisdom Sy has gained from spending time with her friends in the natural world.

In this episode, we’re introducing you to two of Sy’s friends. One is Matt Patterson, the artist who did the illustrations for Sy’s turtle books.

The other friend is Fire Chief, a snapping turtle who lives with Matt just up the road in Hancock. For reference, a 42-lb snapping turtle is about as big as a car tire. Matt estimates that he is between 50 and 70 years old.

Matt tells the story of how Fire Chief got his name. “He lived behind the fire pond for decades. He's an old turtle. And when he was little, the road wasn't as busy, but now it's become a state highway,” says Matt.

“And he has a brumation pond, which is kind of their version of hibernation. So every fall he would cross the road, walk to that. In the spring he came back. And in the fall of 2018, he was hit by a car in it, and it cracked his shell and it paralyzed his back legs and his tail. So he kind of dragged himself back to his pond. The firemen who liked him and knew him saw him. But they were afraid of him. And these are people who run into burning buildings to save you – the heroes!”

After two years rehabbing with the Turtle Rescue League, Matt and Sy stepped in to work with Fire Chief. “They can regenerate nerves…unlike us.“ Matt says. “He had a wheelchair at one point. And so he started to use his legs and he started to get stronger, but he would still flip over. And they use their neck and their tail too, to right themselves. And he couldn't do that.”

“The whole time we were working with him, we were thinking, oh, one day we'll be able to let him rule his pond again,” Sy says. “But we went to the pond where it happened, we were able to locate it, and that was when we saw – it's right on a state highway.”

The change in traffic volume from a country road to a state highway has happened in a blink of an eye for a turtle. Fire Chief’s grandmother turtle watched horse and buggies go by. And during his great-grandmother turtle’s life, there weren’t even buggies yet. That’s turtle time.

When we visited, It was a little too early in the season for Fire Chief to go out in his summer pond in Matt’s backyard, so we got to see Sy and Matt feed Fire Chief in his indoor pool. Matt and Sy say he knows to inhibit his bite when they feed him, but the Something Wild team just watched.

In truth, snapping turtles get a bad rap.

“Swimming, right?” says Matt. “People always say that, oh, you know, they bite people when you're swimming, but they don't bite. They're afraid of you. They stay away from you. And if they did bite you, they're in every pond, lake, river, brook, stream. So every night in the news, there would be snapping turtle attacks.”

In the wild, snapping turtles are scavengers, so they snap up anything they can in a pond, including aquatic plants, fish, frogs, reptiles, birds, and small mammals. Snapping turtles help keep ponds clean, by eating dead animals - an important natural process.

If you find a turtle trying to cross a road, Matt and Sy have some advice for how to help.

“If you're in your car, you can take your floor mats out,” says Sy.”Let it step on to the floor mat and then, getting around to the back of the turtle, turn around and drag them backwards quickly, and then turn them around so that he's facing the direction he or she was going.”

“Don't pick them up by the tail,” Matt says. “A lot of people do that, and they think that that's a good way to do it, but it's not. It really damages their spine because it's all attached.”

Organizations that can help injured turtles include the Turtle Rescue League and NH Turtle Rescue.

“We want people to get excited about turtles” says Matt. “Turtles are so important and amazing…we talk about turtles that can climb trees, and turtles that can sprint 15 miles an hour.”

“Turtles that pee out of their mouths. Turtles that breathe out of their butts,” Sy says.

“Turtles with necks longer than their bodies,” says Matt.

“Turtles whose shells glow in the dark,” adds Sy.

If you're intrigued by this ancient creature, take a look at Sy’s books featuring Matt Patterson’s illustrations: Of Time and Turtles and The Book of Turtles.

Something Wild is a partnership of NH Audubon, the Forest Society, and NHPR.