ICONMEDIA

Image from Flickr: 

We first saw this turtle some months ago when there was more water in Barton Creek. With the lack of rain, the water level continued to fall in the pool where this Spiny Softshell Turtle lived and the pool became smaller and smaller. This autumn we walked this section of the creek regularly. And each time it became easier and easier to see the turtle. The water became murkier and it had to rise to surface more frequently to get air.

We normally walked this section on weekends when others would walk as well. Some would bring their dogs and let them run unleashed down the creek bed. Of course the dogs would run quickly through the turtle's pool, disturbing the water and adding to the turbidity. The last time we visited the depth of the pool was so shallow that this Spiny Softshell could not be fully submerged under water.

Every time we went to this spot, we wondered if or how this turtle could be rescued and placed somewhere else, perhaps downstream or in Town Lake. We had all sorts of different reactions and suggestions. The prevalent answer was that it is best to let nature take its course, and not to intervene. Some suggested that such animals are resilient and they can find a way.

We'd been walking the creek a lot all year and had already noticed the bodies of dead fish as the creek bed dried as up, so we didn't have any illusions that this turtle would not also succumb to lack of water.

Today I received an email from someone named Belway1 who had posted a comment on our video of the turtle. He said:

"I saw this turtle also. One day prior. About a week later I saw him again. He did not survive. You can see the photos I posted of him on flickr. http://www.flickr.com/photos/bewlay/ Thanks for sharing your video."

This is his photo above.