Mort got bored April 6th

Like humans, animals at zoos and in enclosures can get bored. (Imagine being in a tank with no preschool friends looking at you.) Mort was doing ok swimming and getting on his floating platform, but he was bumping his shell against the corners of the tank. It seemed he was trying to get to the "other turtle" he thought he could see. Putting paper against the sides didn't change his being able to see his own reflection. It was time to come up with a new strategy to help him.

First, a log was added with a long branch that went down into the tank. He seemed to like swimming around that branch, circling around and around it. Then after a few days he went back to bumping again. It was time to create more things for Mort to do.

Red twig dogwood branches were lashed together with pieces of string into a red barrier in the corner of the tank. Mort was intrigued, using his mouth to explore what it was. It WAS the size of his food sticks, but it wasn't food.

After a while, the log and the red dogwood structure floated towards his floating platform when the current of the water filter pushed it. Would he still be able to get up? Yes!

(Look at the yellow triangle showing where he was able to get through to climb up.)