When’s the last time you helped a turtle cross the road? One Mississippi non-profit has made that, and so much more, it’s goal.
According to Tom Mann, a Zoologist with the MS Museum of Natural Science, there are close to 31 species, including sea turtles, of turtles in the state of Mississippi and it is one of the best places for this diversity in the world. Those include snapping turtles, alligator snapping turtles (not necessarily common, but widespread in larger streams/rivers), river cooters, sliders, common musk turtles, mud turtles, and box turtles.
With such a vast amount of these critters living in our own back yard Christy Milbourne decided she wanted to make sure they had an advocate.
“We started off with a turtle someone had saved that they thought we could help, and then other friends found out we could help turtles and it just sort of evolved,” said Milbourne founder of the Central Mississippi Turtle Rescue.
Milbourne said the next thing she knew, she had a house full of turtles that they were trying to rehabilitate and release back into the wild. She and her husband decided to take their “side project” one step further and contacted the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks to find out what they needed to do to be certified.
“Whether they are sick or need some sort of help they are really a beautiful and valuable resource in the state of Mississippi that sometimes go overlooked or are misunderstood,” said Milbourne.
The rescue has since been recognized by the MDWFP as an Administrative Rehabilitation Permit through the MS Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks and in January of 2017 received certification as a non-profit in the state.
For the turtles that can’t be rehabilitated for the wild, or that aren’t native to the state Milbourne said they find suitable adoptive homes for them to live out the rest of their lives. So far they have had hundreds of rescues since 2009.
Most recently the Rescue released a 70 pound alligator snapping turtle named Tred that was found on Highway 25 about a year ago bruised, battered, and bleeding. Tred was taken back home over the weekend and released into the wild.
Since the Rescue is a non-profit they run totally on donations and Milbourne said they’re always looking for more help when it comes to saving turtles in Mississippi. To find out more about the turtle rescuing process and how to get involved visit HERE.
