lulubryan
P1090570
This mini-snapping turtle (about nine or ten inches, snout to tail) was crossing a road in the Swan Quarter Natl. Wildlife Refuge this evening, and I stopped to take some pictures of him...which he let me do for a few minutes, before savagely trying to bite my shoe.
He put on a great show of aggression, which I'd never realized turtles do--my pet iguanas used to do almost the same thing. First he made a huffing noise, like, "Now you're on my last nerve." Then he raised up the back of his shell, by extending his back legs and sort of propping up on his tail. See the next photo for that posture... Then he stretched all four legs as far as they would go, making himself super-tall (by turtle standards), and sort of John-Wayne-slash-sumo-wrestler staggered towards me and tried to latch onto my shoe. When was able to find no part of my shoe that he could get his beak around, he got back on his short legs and hustled at top speed back into the swamp.
P1090570
This mini-snapping turtle (about nine or ten inches, snout to tail) was crossing a road in the Swan Quarter Natl. Wildlife Refuge this evening, and I stopped to take some pictures of him...which he let me do for a few minutes, before savagely trying to bite my shoe.
He put on a great show of aggression, which I'd never realized turtles do--my pet iguanas used to do almost the same thing. First he made a huffing noise, like, "Now you're on my last nerve." Then he raised up the back of his shell, by extending his back legs and sort of propping up on his tail. See the next photo for that posture... Then he stretched all four legs as far as they would go, making himself super-tall (by turtle standards), and sort of John-Wayne-slash-sumo-wrestler staggered towards me and tried to latch onto my shoe. When was able to find no part of my shoe that he could get his beak around, he got back on his short legs and hustled at top speed back into the swamp.