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Report
Received From: The GCBRO Online Report
Submission Form.
Report
Posted To GCBRO Web Site On: January
1, 2007
DATE:
May 1987
TIME:
Approx. 7:00 am
LOCATION:
Cooke County, Texas, Highway 82 eastbound, between Muenster, Tx and
Lindsay, Tx. 1/4 mile west of the rest stop, on the west bank of Elm Creeks
TERRAIN:
Low-lying mixed hardwood creek bed and open pasture/cultivated cropland.
Gentle hills. An old gravel quarry is still in use less then a quarter
mile off the road to the south.
OBSERVED:
I was driving to Gainesville to attend a 7:30 am history class at the community
college when I topped the hill before the rest stop and saw what I took
to be a large garbage bag in the left lane at the bottom of the hill. I
changed lanes, mentally cursing whoever left it there. As I approached
the bottom of the hill, the "Garbage bag" raised it's head and looked towards
me. I took my foot off the gas and observed it as I approached and it was
then that I recognized it as a huge turtle crossing the road. I had no
camera, and couldn't afford to be late for class so I didn't stop. Then
watched it until I topped the next hill. It remained in the left lane,
pointed south. The Semi tractor behind me also had to change lanes to avoid
it. It must have been following the creek down from the Red River, heading
south.
Activities
of Witness: I drove that road
every morning to attend college classes in Gainesville
Description
of Creature: It sat unmoving throughout
the entire encounter save for it's head. I estimated it to be 2.5 to 3
feet tall, and it was longer than it was tall. It was massive, and as I
said, I had taken it to be a large, contractor type bag full of trash.
In the early light, it appeared to be black or very dark in color. It's
head was easily larger than my fist, possibly approaching baseball sized.
Other
Notes: The only other
turtle approaching this size that I have ever seen is the one at Fair Park
Aquarium in Dallas, and I didn't know of its existence until several years
later. It wasn't as large as the one I saw that morning (in my estimation)
Other
(Informational or Encounter History in the General Area) Notes:
Just deer and bobcat. It is a wildlife corridor. I have told this story
many times, never realizing that it was anomalous. I knew alligator snappers
got that big, I did not know that they were not common to the area.
Additional
Notes and or Follow up Comments:
N/A
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