A 'Miracle' Unfolds After Rescuer Saves Deceased Mama Turtle’s Eggs

During egg-laying seasons in Massachusetts, mama turtles travel across the land searching for the right spots to bury their eggs. While on these journeys sometimes, some of these mama turtles get tragically stopped by predators or vehicles. However, thanks to wildlife rehabilitator James Stubbs Jr's work, these mama turtles' eggs get to have a second chance. When Stubbs discovers that a deceased turtle has eggs, he brings them back to the Newhouse Wildlife Rescue and cares for them, just as the mama turtle would have.

According to The Dodo, Stubbs placed the eggs in a moist substrate with a small amount of heated water at the bottom to maintain a consistent level of warmth and humidity. Stubbs carefully monitored the eggs every day for three months. Although he was doing everything in his power to take care of the eggs, Stubbs was unsure if they would make it. "I was holding my breath," Stubbs told The Dodo, adding that all of his wildlife rehabber friends who were also caring for turtle eggs were happily talking about how their eggs were hatching, and "mine just hadn’t hatched," he said.

Then, something beautiful occurred one morning. When Stubbs went to check on the incubator, he discovered that a dozen baby turtles had hatched overnight. Stubbs was overjoyed over the fact that all the babies were doing well. "It was truly a miracle," the Rescue wrote on social media. Since they were born later in the season, these baby turtles will be cared for by Stubbs until the spring so they have enough time to grow before being released.

Fascinatingly, these turtles are going to play an integral role in their ecosystem once they’re released. Stubbs told The Dodo that turtles keep the ponds in which they live clean by eating decaying plants and animals. It is going to be difficult for Stubbs to say goodbye, even though he knows how important it is for these turtles to get back to their natural environment. James Stubbs, according to the Rescue, has a passion for reptiles and amphibians.

According to the Rescue, it was pretty gross to watch Stubbs dig through turtle carcasses, as some of them had been run over by cars and were hard to look at. It’s hard to believe anything beautiful could come from what he does, but, according to the Rescue, Stubbs knew what he was doing and he didn’t care what anyone thought.