Be interested to know how large the turtle was before criticizing the pilot.
Around here, we have the maybe 6” box turtled everywhere. Much as I avoid running over them with the car or tractor, not sure I’d risk a landing over one.
OTOH, we have significantly larger turtles I’ve seen. Probably 12” or more and likely with a much tougher shell.
Not sure I’d want to risk hitting one with the landing gear of a light aircraft. There are enough variables to account for during landing without worrying about dodging the living equivalent of a small boulder on the runway.
Gopher tortoises in south Georgia can be 15 inches long and weigh up to 15 pounds per AI. I’m sure I saw one years ago which was closer to 2 feet long. But I don’t think they’ve gotten to North Carolina yet.