Box turtles

[Richard Jensen]

For those herpetologists on the list - our secretary brought in a turtle she
found here in South Bend, IN.  I didn't take a careful look and a colleague
thought it was an unusual form of the eastern box.  I was looking at it
today and the markings were just not right for an eastern or western box.
Then I remembered having seen, years ago, a three-toed box turtle.  Sure
enough, that's what we've got.

Here's my question: Are we safe in assuming that someone brought this turtle
back from a trip to MO, AR, TX, or some other part of its range?  And, what
should we do with this critter (other than make a museum specimen out of him
- the turtle in question does appear to be male)?

Cheers,

Dick J.
--
Richard J. Jensen              | tel: 574-284-4674
Department of Biology      | fax: 574-284-4716
Saint Mary's College         | e-mail: rjensen at saintmarys.edu
Notre Dame, IN 46556    | http://www.saintmarys.edu/~rjensen