Animal authorities in New Jersey said they don't know how six turtles native to southern states wound up in a box at the side of a road.

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D.J. Infield, manager of the Essex County branch of the Associated Humane Societies, said a woman brought a cardboard box to the shelter last week containing six soft-shelled turtles native to Florida, Georgia and other southern states, The (Newark, N.J.) Star-Ledger reported Tuesday.

"When I opened up the box, I got the fright of my life because I'd never seen those kind of turtles before," Infield said. He said four dead turtles were found in the same location.

John Bergmann, general manager of Popcorn Park Zoo in Forked River, where the turtles are being kept, said authorities do not know how the turtles ended up in the box at the side of a West New York road.

"It takes somebody with a pretty cruel heart to do that," he said of abandoning the animals.

Authorities said it is illegal to own turtles in New Jersey without a permit.