The Ridgewood Blog Brings a Free Market Laissez-faire Point of View to Local, New Jersey State and National Issues.
photos courtesy of Boyd Loving’s Facebook page
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Hawthorne NJ, An injured snapping turtle slowed traffic on Route 208 southbound near Goffle Road in Hawthorne on Sunday morning, 06/16. Hawthorne Police wisely established a safety zone until the injured turtle could be safely removed from the roadway by Tyco Animal Control Services.
Continue reading Injured Snapping Turtle Blocks Traffic on Route 208
August 24,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ , when Ridgewood Police Patrol Officer Brandon Donnelly was assigned to protect a seemingly stranded turtle at the Bergen County Wild Duck Pond Park on Sunday afternoon,https://theridgewoodblog.net/ridgewood-police-rescue-stranded-turtle/, many readers commented that it must have been a slow news day .
However a reader adds , “In case no one noticed, that turtle is not a cute harmless species. Our Police Officer was doing his job protecting the public from a dangerous animal. That creature can take a mean bite out of people. That is why it is called a snapping turtle. Would you have wanted your innocent child losing a finger or worse when he/she went over to “pet the cute turtle”?”
The common snapping turtle is noted for its combative disposition when out of the water with its powerful beak-like jaws, and highly mobile head and neck (hence the specific name serpentina, meaning “snake-like”).
While much new research out there seems an attempt to dispel the myth of a highly aggressive predator , experiences in Saddle River in my childhood would suggest this is one animal like a shark or alligator that one should give a wide birth and not encourage . The dinosaur-ish looks , sharp beak and unpredictable nature make them wholly inadequate as house pets
Photo credit: Boyd A. Loving
Ridgewood PD responds to report of stranded snapping turtle
May 12,2014
Boyd A. Loving
8:48 PM
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood Police Department Patrol Officer Shayne James (left) and an unidentified representative of HoHoKus based Tyco Animal Control (right) observe a female snapping turtle that became stranded on a ledge within the man-made waterfall at the Irene Habernickel Family Park on Hillcrest Road in Ridgewood on Monday, 05/12. It was decided to leave the turtle in place and check back in several days to determine whether it freed itself on its own. The Tyco representative believes the turtle laid eggs somewhere in the Park and is now in the process of heading back to her usual habitat.
