An ancient snapper, this old gal had a carapace the size of a large dinner plate and bore healed-over war wounds from who knows what...snappers are naturally very curious and often get close to boats to investigate, thus sustaining injuries from boat propellers. Others survive attacks by other wild animals, and those that aren't killed when crossing the road are often injured. Whatever caused the big scar on this turtle's back wasn't enough to do her in.
When you see a turtle in New England this time of year you can be nearly sure it is a female, looking for a place to lay her eggs. The males travel to mate, but rarely leave their home body of water, whereas the females may travel up to several miles to find an acceptable nest site. They will often return to the same nest site year after year, using some homing ability that we mere humans have yet to understand. Judging by the size of this gal, she could have been anywhere from 10 to 30 years old.
When you find a snapper - or any turtle for that matter -- trying to cross the road, stop the traffic and then "herd" the animal toward the side of the road in the direction in which it was headed. If you return the animal to the side it came from, it will only try again to cross, so this won't help.
After I'd pulled off the side of the road I walked around a bit trying to figure out which way this turtle was headed. I checked out the tracks and found that she had come from the other side of the road, so she only needed a little encouragement to get off the shoulder of the busy road and down into the safety of the marsh where, hopefully, she will find a great nesting spot.
Turtles are an amazing species that deserves protection, and it truly felt like an honor to meet this one.
For more information on snappers, please click through here.
1 comment:
What a delightful sight!
And of course, I remember your love of turtles :-)
Hugs,
Post a Comment