Sunday, July 26, 2009

Devils Lake snapping turtle

Very impressive snapping turtle we encountered on a little walkabout we took at Devils Lake State Park. Almost garbage can lid size. It was right on the sidewalk, sadly right next to the edge of the road. I think she was trying to get a bit further inland and lay some eggs, as it looked like it had given up trying to get over the edge of the walk and had started to scratch out a hole with a VERY impressive set of claws on its left rear foot.picture of a snapping turtle at Devils Lake State ParkHeat, bright sunshine, car traffic, people walking by, boaters, snorkelers, none of it seemed to phase this very impressive and prehistoric looking creature from the deep. I just hope it made it back to the deep. It was big enough that I was a bit nervous picking it up and walking it down to the water. I'm told turtles have surprising long necks and I did not want to confirm that.

2 comments:

Jamie said...

That is an amazing photograph of an impressive animal! My boyfriend and I are novice canoeists and I will be following you blog to hear more about your river trips and to learn more about canoeing!

Anonymous said...

This is a soft shell turtle, not a snapper. Snapping turles have much larger heads and limbs, a very long tail, and a rough shell, fyi.