Yesterday I was walking on campus and I happened upon a distinguished gentleman, the kind one runs into on Caltech's campus and you find out later they're someone whose name you recognize. He was stopped on the sidewalk near Baxter, and looked pretty concerned, so I stopped to see what was the matter. It quickly became obvious: there was a humongous critter on the sidewalk, flailing around. He looked concerned and asked if I had a paper or something to pick it up with - it was a crayfish! And a pretty big one too, like a good 4-5 inches long. It must have come out of the pond and fallen, because from where it was on the sidewalk there was no chance of it getting back into the pond.
I ran over to the notice board to grab a paper, and some other students gathered to see what was going on. By the time I got back, one of them had just stepped in and picked the crayfish up and put it back into the pond. It seemed pretty happy and swam off under the lily pads. I felt sort of silly that I hadn't just tried picking it up, but the student said he used to catch them all the time and so he was used to holding them. The original gentleman was very happy - he beamed at all of us, and thanked us for helping save a life. We all wandered off back to our normal lives, but that one moment really brightened my day.
1 comment:
Congratulations; I think the biggest creature I ever saved was a turtle (turtles are even less successful at crossing the road than possums). I do try to rescue any earthworms and snails I come across after a rainstorm, though.
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