Thirty baby snapping turtles in the Whiteshell are getting the chance to experience life thanks to some quick thinking of people in the area and a local lodge owner. Four-year-old Odin Sobkowich and his family were walking near Nutimik Lodge on Thursday when they noticed a hole with several little turtles surrounding it. “What kind of turtles?” Brendan Sobkowich, Odin’s dad, asked Odin. “Snapping turtles,” Odin said. Brendan quickly ran to the lodge and asked for a box so they could load the snapping turtles up and bring them to a nearby creek. While the lodge is close to the creek, the location of where the eggs hatched wasn’t the best spot for the turtles to survive, as there was a lot of vegetation to manoeuvre through and it can be a high-traffic area. “It is the parking lot of our lodge and then it is the main road to the cottagers, so we didn’t want any harm to be done to any of the snapping turtles,” said Allison Baker Thiessen, the owner of Nutimik Lodge. “So bringing them down there got them out of the fear of getting run over by vehicles or anything that could have come in their way.” After bringing the turtles near the water, the group made sure to not put them directly in. They still wanted the turtles to rely on their natural instincts and find the water to start their lives. They stayed nearby, watching each turtle slowly crawl its way to the water. “They swam,” Odin said. Brendan said it was an unreal experience to be able to do something like this and he is so happy his son was able to be a part of it. “Once in a lifetime kind of experience. I mean, we had Odin’s great grandmother with us. She’s seen a few sunrises and this is her first time ever seeing something like that, so it was a great family experience all around,” said Brendan. Baker Thiessen said her favourite part of the entire rescue was seeing the smile on Odin’s face and being able to watch the turtles find their way into the water. She also noted this turned into a great opportunity to bring awareness about keeping natural habits safe for these creatures. The turtle hatching may not be over yet, either. The nearby museum had snapping turtles hatch a few weeks ago and Baker Thiessen said there was also a painted turtle digging near the lodge, so she is keeping an eye out for eggs. “I don’t know if she actually laid the eggs, but she was definitely digging,” she said. ”It’s definitely one area that we’re keeping an eye on as well, just in case.”
