snapper 1
We found this snapping turtle crawling through a grassy ditch towards Palmer Boulevard, away from the Celery Fields wetlands. It may have been a female seeking a nest site. It had a rather placid disposition, but then again, we were not harassing it or approaching too closely. A few minutes later we realized that a county employee on a tractor was mowing the grass between the sidewalk and road pavement. Presumably he saw the turtle and mowed around it because after we completed the 3-4-mile loop and were walking back to our car, the turtle was no where to be seen. We had seen a large dead turtle on the banks of drainage canal, but we'd like to think this individual survived for another day (but I can't help but think of the turtle-and-highway scene in "Grapes of Wrath.")
Sarasota, FL (10 February, 2021)
snapper 1
We found this snapping turtle crawling through a grassy ditch towards Palmer Boulevard, away from the Celery Fields wetlands. It may have been a female seeking a nest site. It had a rather placid disposition, but then again, we were not harassing it or approaching too closely. A few minutes later we realized that a county employee on a tractor was mowing the grass between the sidewalk and road pavement. Presumably he saw the turtle and mowed around it because after we completed the 3-4-mile loop and were walking back to our car, the turtle was no where to be seen. We had seen a large dead turtle on the banks of drainage canal, but we'd like to think this individual survived for another day (but I can't help but think of the turtle-and-highway scene in "Grapes of Wrath.")
Sarasota, FL (10 February, 2021)