Roadkill

Being a boy of the city originally I was aware of roadkill but I had no idea how much there is until I started working and living in a more rural setting. It boggles my mind the number of raccoons, porcupines, groundhogs,rabbits and other small animals I see on the road side every day. For years it never occurred to me what happened to these mangled carcasses but there must be a township guy who's job it is to pick them up and dispose of them. I hate to say it my I have created my own share of road kill over the years and it certainly seems to bother me much more now than it did years ago. I have hit a wild turkey two different times in my work truck and both times had to finish them off afterwards due to their injuries. I have hit a partridge and numerous other smaller birds which bugs me to no end. Over the years I have been become a bit of a bird watcher and when I hit one with my car it is upsetting.
This brings me to what has happened in the past two days which has saddened me a bit. Yesterday on my way to work on the 10'th concession I saw a small object in the roadway and missed it, realizing as I drove over it that it was a small painted turtle. I turned as soon as I could to go back and help it across the road only to see another run over the back end of it. It flipped up and smacked the bottom of the car and then came to rest in the middle of the road. When I got there it was alive but a closer inspection revealed a damaged back leg and the shell was cracked. It's unlikely it will survive although I moved it to the side of the road, not knowing whether it was wise to let him live. I can only hope somehow the little guy will survive.
Then today on the way to work again on Grey Rd. 2 I saw another small object in the road, missed it and again realized that it was another small painted turtle so I turned around but when I got to him his shell was also cracked so I moved him off the road but I don't hold out a lot of hope for him. He may have been dead already. I don't know why dead turtles bothers me. Maybe because they are small harmless little creatures who are just neat to look at. Maybe it's because I have stroked a sea turtles shell 70 feet under water in Cozumel and that is an experience I will never forget. That turtle was just having a great day and he was fine with a few divers coming over to say hello. Who knows? I do hope if you see a turtle in the middle of the road in your travels please try to safely turn around and help it out before a car gets it. We need all the turtles we can get in this world.