What's this in my car? Oh snap!

A snapping turtle, such as this one found behind Hudson High School last year, somehow ended up in a car at the parking garage at South Shore Plaza in Braintree. (Peter Vacchina)

When Kate Campbell of Quincy returned to her car in the parking garage at the South Shore Plaza in Braintree, the last thing she expected was a scene out of "Wild Kingdom."

Campbell had strapped her two toddlers into their car seats and went to hit the gas when she felt something large and smooth under her foot. When she looked down, she found a snapping turtle about half the size of a basketball, resting between the gas and brake pedals.

She unstrapped her kids, stepped out, surveyed the scene, and exclaimed, "There's a turtle in my car!"

Another shopper heard her, and went to get security while Campbell tended to her curious youngsters - the oldest of whom wanted to keep their new friend as a pet.

A mall security guard scooped the turtle into a cooler with a 2-by-4, and later returned it to the wild, namely, a small stream behind the mall. Security staff was perplexed as to how a turtle would be able to climb the two levels of a busy parking garage, and Campbell doesn't think she brought it with her from her home in Quincy.

She is working on one theory on how the turtle got there: mischievous Red Sox fans, irritated by her New York Mets seat covers.

MANNY VEIGA