Florida Soft Shell Turtle help Crossing Hot Street

This interesting creature was crossing the street that leads to my home on a very hot summer day (June2005). It was stuck trying to go from the pavement to the sidewalk. As soon as I saw it, I went to to my home and got thick gardening gloves and my camera of course. The decision to get the gloves was a very wise one since once I grabbed this turtle, unlike normal turtles, it extended its legs and long -sharp- claws and scratched my gloves very very hard, so much that it slightly scratched my forearms (this type of turtle is very different from common turtles in that it is very aggressive), be careful if you decide to get this close to one. While the shell is supposed to be "soft", it didn't deform at all when I grabbed this amphibian. You can read more about these creatures from the Smithsonian Institution.