Turtle Vigilantes?

Oh yes we are! Three times in the past week, we have intervened with turtles. The first two were on our road trip. Thomas's job was to drive, and mine included wildlife spotting. Usually this means telling him to watch out for an animal on the side of the road that might run in front of him (which more often than not is actually litter and not an animal).

But last week, I yelled at him to stop the car as a turtle was in the road. She was right where tires might go! He turned the car around and she hadn't moved, so he took things in his own hands:Here she is, scampering into the safety of a field:
A few days later, another turtle was in the road! But this time, as I approached him, he took off into the safety:Thomas came out of the car to lecture him about not napping on roads (though I doubt the turtle will follow this excellent advice):Yesterday, Thomas and I were out for a run. On our way out, we had noticed a snapping turtle laying eggs. We just ran past her as we didn't want to annoy her or distract her from her job. On our way back, we noticed three 20-something adults gathered around her. One person walked away, but the other two stayed. We thought they were just looking at her, but as we got closer, we realized one was poking her with a stick!!!

I am very much a nonconfrontational person, but this was too much for me. I asked, "What are you doing?" and she just gave me a dumbfounded look and kept poking her! So I yelled, "Leave her alone! What is wrong with you?" Then Thomas yelled, "She's laying eggs! It's illegal to harass wildlife like that. Do I have to call the cops?" and finally they quit poking her and left.

Neither of us had ever yelled at a stranger before, and I hope the opportunity to do so never presents itself again. But seriously, why would someone do that?