Personal Journeys: Untamed

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Personal Journeys: Untamed

Carol Ruckdeschel doesn’t just live off the bounty of Cumberland Island. She lives for it. The island's roadkill-eating, gator-wrestling, self-proclaimed protector battles mightily with two-legged aggressors.

Because you can probably go see a wild horse right now, at Cumberland Island.

Carol handles a snake she caught in her chicken coop. Credit: Collection of Carol Ruckdeschel.

Carol has studied and protected the island's imperiled wildlife for forty-two years. Credit: Collection of Carol Ruckdeschel.

Carol and her mother, Anne (left), hike together near Lake Whitney. Credit: Bob Shoop.

Carol lived in a shed while she rebuilt her cabin with driftwood. Over the years, scientists, journalists, political leaders, students and lovers have squared off with Carol on her porch. Will Harlan / Atlantic Grove

Carol still lives on the island, in the cabin she rebuilt in 1978. John Carrington / Savannah Morning News

Cumberland Island’s more than 700 miles of sandy beach provide vital nesting areas for sea turtles and shore birds. CHARLES SEABROOK / AJC

Carol Ruckdeschel, who has lived on Cumberland Island for 41 years, has butted heads with the National Park Service and heirs of the Carnegies and Candlers in her efforts to protect the island’s wilderness area from development and vehicle traffic. Sasha Greenspan / Grove Atlantic

Carol, pictured in 1995, has spent 40 years compiling some of the most comprehensive sea turtle stranding data in the world. AJC

Carol in 1995. AJC

Carol in 1995. AJC

Located on the south end of Cumberland Island are the ruins of Dungeness mansion. It was built by Lucy Carnegie, sister-in-law to industrialist Andrew Carnegie, in 1885. In 1959, the three-story mansion was believed to have been torched by an arsonist. Credit: Georgia Department of Economic Development

Main Road on Cumberland Island National Seashore, one of Georgia's crown jewels. Cumberland is Georgia's largest barrier island. (Photo by Charles Seabrook)

The Grange, built on Cumberland Island in 1902 by Lucy Carnegie, has become the property of the National Park Service through the expiration of a retained estate agreement. (Photo by Charles Seabrook)

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Because you can probably go see a wild horse right now, at Cumberland Island.

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