Tortuga

I got a call from E last night just after I'd left work. There was a very large turtle in our yard. He said its shell was about a foot long. I told him to take lots of pictures and to stay back a bit, it sounded like a snapper to me.

An hour later when I got home, E told me how the kitties had been very excited about the turtle, and had been checking it out. How he couldn't keep them away from it. But, nothing, thank goodness, happened, to either the turtle or the kitties.

By time I got home, the turtle had wandered off. E went on a scavenger hunt and found it again, just at the tree line in the woods. I grabbed my Audubon Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians and went to have a look. Sure enough, it was a snapper. It was probably a female going and looking for a spot to lay her eggs. The guide said they travel a long way from water to build their nest.

So, maybe in 9-18 weeks, we might be seeing baby snappers traveling through the area, going back to the stream or pond that mom came from.