Driving home this evening, I saw a large, dark lump in the road. I slowly swerved around it; and, as I passed, I exclaimed out loud, "Turtle!"
I stopped, threw the tranny into Reverse, and carefully backed up, pulling off onto the shoulder and starting the emergency flashers.
As I approached, I could see she was not able to pull her body into her shell, she had huge claws, and her shell was covered with moss. Yup, all signs that this was indeed a large, female, "Common Snapping Turtle." I walked around behind her and gently tapped on the back of her shell...S-N-A-P!!! Wow! Her neck stretched way out, rapidly swept back toward my finger, and SNAP. Wisely, I had tapped far enough away from her head that she didn't take my finger off.
She's a biggun! I wish I could tell how old she is. Yes, I did confirm she's a she. I wanted to get her off the road. I had a small shovel in the back of my truck and I used it to move her. In the process, I had to flip her onto her back. If I remember correctly, the males have a concave underside. This allows them to mount the female and stay more stable against the rounded back of her shell. The females have a flat underside, I believe. If my memory is accurate, this specimen is definitely female...
Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.Snapper 01 by tjwilhelm148149, on Flickr
Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.Snapper 04 by tjwilhelm148149, on Flickr
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