spiny softshell, woodchuck going to WLS and more!

I've gotten a few woodchucks in this year with neurological issues. They are unbalanced, fall over or just don't act right. It could be caused by head trauma (ie hit by car) or an infectious disease (ie bacterial brain infection or random parasite migration through the brain) or something else. This adult female has not recovered and is still a bit wobbly, along with not fearing humans--hence why I'm holding her. If she was "right in the head" she would be biting me hard (her teeth are long and could take my finger off!) I would never hold a woodchuck like this unless I was very, very experienced and sure she wasn't going to bite. That being said, she has brain damage, and I can't predict if she'll decide to turn on me and take a Nay snack. But that's the risk I'm taking.

Bottom line:
Don't EVER handle a wild animal unless you've been trained to do so.

Anyway, since she wouldn't survive in the wild, she's found a new home at the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary as an education animal!! I'm so excited that she'll be going to such a good home and will get to be an ambassador for wildlife in education programs.

Last week we got in this small spiny soft shell turtle. These turtles don't have a hard shell like the ones we're used to; they have a soft, leathery shell. They live at the bottoms of rivers, in the muck. This turtle was brought in because some people thought he was an orphan. Just like other turtles, "baby" spiny softshells are on their own from day 1 because mom doesn't stick around after she lays her eggs. So it's really impossible for a turtle to be an orphan---or all they all orphans?