Terrapin find delights Bluff family

A REFRESHING swim in the pool turned into a lucky find for the Pistorius family last week, when they spotted a tiny turtle waddling in the water alongside them.

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The Bluff family does not own turtles, so it came as a shock to see the little creature enjoying the cool water on Monday, 11 February.
Jolene Pistorius said her family was taking a dip to counter the blistering weather when she noticed something swimming behind her mother. “I shouted at my mother to look and she turned around to see the little creature swimming around,” she said.

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Filled with the excitement of finding the turtle, they immediately fished it out of the pool. “I named him Lucky because my mother reckoned it had probably been picked up by a bird to eat, but wiggled its way out of the bird’s clutches and dropped into the swimming pool. He was lucky as well that our dogs didn’t eat him. I was so happy I started to cry,” she said.
The turtle was indeed lucky to be alive and to land in the caring hands of the Pistoriuses.

They washed the creature to get rid of the pool chemicals and placed him in a glass container, along with vegetable pieces.

Knowing they couldn’t keep the creature, they contacted the Centre for Rehabilitation for Wildlife (CROW) in Yellowwood Park
CROW spokesman Lana Bartholomew said the staff were all in awe of the tiny terrapin which was delivered to their office. “The little one is doing well but will be kept under observation until it is ready to be released. Terrapins are carnivorous and will eat little fish and insects when they are as small as the one admitted to CROW. As adults, they even catch birds that are floating in the water and of course fish,” she said.

For more information or help, call CROW on 031-462-1127 and 083-212-5281. CROW is open from 7am to 5pm daily and the after hours number is available up until 8pm.