The Galápagos tortoise, a gentle survivor, is the world’s largest living tortoise. I was privileged to see several of them up close and personal when I visited the Galápagos Islands years ago. Stately, serene and ancient, I suspect their relations greeted voyagers when they arrived in 1535.
When my eldest son was around 9, he found and adopted an eastern box turtle with an injured leg in our woodsy backyard in Virginia. He named him Mugglewumps and, for a period of time, we acquiesced to its being a pet. Time in a tank with occasional forays to the family room and yard lasted perhaps a few months. Then, as Doug approached a birthday, he gifted Mugglewumps with his release to the wild. It was sad for our son, but he knew that the turtle needed to be in his native home. And his leg was better.
Poignant and Powerful
Rescuing, restoring, and letting go are dominant themes in Sy Montgomery’s “Of Time and Turtles: Mending the World, Shell by Shattered Shell.”Her gentle narrative, part science and part memoir, recounts her time spent as a volunteer intern at the Turtle Rescue League in Massachusetts. She, along with wildlife artist (and illustrator for this book) Matt Patterson offer their time and talents to the care of a myriad of turtles from boxed to painted to spotted to snapping. And there’s a frigid sea turtle rescue off the coast of Cape Cod in the wee hours of the morning.
The reptilian creatures arriving at the facility are in dire need. They may be sporting smashed shells, broken jaws, torn legs, or battered heads. The League’s motto is “Never give up on a turtle.”
Much in part to the dedication of the intrepid staff, many turtles are saved. Some become permanent residents because of their injuries. Others are lovingly released once healthy. Hatchlings are nurtured. Old-timers seem to share their wisdom.
It’s a trip to turtle time—a time not just spent administering to their wounds but connecting to their ancient wisdom. The humans involved are renewed and refreshed. The turtles benefit from their caring rehabilitation.
Turtles are amazing. They live a long time if predators don’t get to them first either as unprotected eggs in nesting grounds, young hatchlings, or slow-moving shells on a heavily trafficked road. They harbor within their hardback homes tremendous healing properties: They can regenerate nerve tissue, given time.
Too Much Like Us
For the most part, all of the turtles featured in the book are given names to suit their varied and distinct personalities. Sugarloaf is a painted turtle. Then there’s Pizza Man who is a red-footed tortoise. Beloved of the bunch is Fire Chief, perhaps older than 60, a great snapper who is eventually fitted with a set of small wheels to assist his limp rear legs, as he works toward full recovery. His visits to the Turtle Garden are as much appreciated by him as his handlers delight in observing his slow but steady improvement.
As with many animals that we nurture as pets, we often assign human characteristics to their appearance and behavior. It’s no different with these rehabilitating turtles. Perhaps anthropomorphism is at play for all those closely involved with their protection and care. On the other hand, as Ms. Montgomery has discovered in her research, turtles do communicate verbally with their guttural chattering. While initially skeptical and cautious, given time and patience, both turtles and humans become comfortable enough that the turtles will come out of their shells and the humans get to stroke a snapper’s head.
Turtles hold a long legacy in many cultures and myths. Recall the Haudenosaunee creation story of Sky Woman who falls from her island home in the sky into the ocean where a giant sea turtle carries her, and the birds give her soil to create Earth on its back.
Turtles have survived from their time with the dinosaurs. Their wrinkly skins speak not only of old age but the wisdom of the ages. Unhurried by nature, timeless in their tenacity and toughness, turtles can teach humans much from their perseverance, their often-buried souls (they like to submerge in the darkness and comfort of mud), their sacredness, and inherent knowledge of the seasons.
As Ms. Montgomery and Mr. Patterson discover, their time with the turtles taught them much about their own sense of time, what’s important in life and where one puts their priorities.
Readers will no doubt relish this look into the world of tortoises and terrapins, and Ms. Montgomery’s adept treatment of the efforts made worldwide to protect and preserve their timeless legacy among us.
Tread carefully as you step into turtle time.
