As if the drought isn't bad enough, turtles in one part of the metro are experiencing a double douse of dry weather.
Related: Drought relief expected this weekend
Neighbors near the area of Anderson Lakes, just south of 169 and 494 have found themselves in the middle of a snapping turtle saving mission.
"You get them up by the tail, they're not flexible enough to reach up and bite you and they're strong enough that it doesn't hurt them and you put them back down and walk away," said Larry Frost.
Saving a turtle is the exception, dozens of others have been hit by cars and died.
"Under normal precipitation conditions we anticipated the lake to fill back up in a year and half to two years time," said 9-Mile Creek Watershed District's Kevin Bigalke.
Last year water was removed from Anderson Lakes to help get rid of an invasive weed species.
The weed can choke out other native species.
"The intention of the project was to do a draw down that would mimic an extreme drought condition," said Bigalke.
The weed has a tough time surviving during a drought and experts figured once it rained this spring the weed would be gone and the native species would flourish, except they're still waiting for the rain.
In the meantime the turtles have picked up and left and are playing a losing game of Frogger, if you will, while they search for a new water source.
Experts anticipated there would be some casualties when the water was removed from the lakes, neighbors who appreciate the wildlife just hope it's not a lasting change.
(Copyright 2009 by KARE. All Rights Reserved.)
