Turtles & Tortoises
View allAll Photos Tagged TURTLES
"In many cultures, particularly in China, Japan and among Native American peoples, the turtle is an ancient symbol of good luck."
for "Looking close... on Friday!"
Theme : "Lucky Charm"
Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center, Austin, TX. Sony nex5r and Schneider Kreuznach Componar 50/4.5 enlarger lens. The turtles have grown accustomed to the passers by at the entrance to the Center, and they seem to enjoy their theatrics.
Actinemys pallida,
Cayucos Creek,
Cayucos, California
I assume the difference in head/neck color is merely individual variation within the species.
This green turtle was one of 20 this particular day that crawled on the Hookipa Park beach on Maui, Hawaii to rest. The turtle had just come ashore and was about to drop its head to sleep.
The green turtle is listed as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Major nesting is done in the French Frigate Shoals but some goes on right here in HI and we ran into one ranger going on a 'turtle nest watch.'
Thank you, so much, for looking!
Painted turtle enjoying a warm Halloween.
Wildwood Lake, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Water turtle seen at Grand Cenote (waterhole) in the Tulum area on the road to Coba ruins. [Quintana Roo, Mexico]
This lovely visitor was in my yard this morning. After taking numerous photos of him, I gently moved him across the street--in the same direction that he was originally moving. The cats were very curious about him, I feared that they might get too close for their own good. We usually see box turtles, this is the first time one like this has come through the yard.
Two Red-eared Slider Turtles bask themselves in the warm sunshine. I'm seeing more and more rather large turtles, some appear to have been well taken care of which leads me to believe someone has let them go in the canal due to their size.
Don't let that smiley face fool you. These turtles can be feisty when out of water. Snapping turtles roamed the earth with the dinosaurs and have a strong bite but contrary to popular belief they cannot bite your finger off. They range from Canada to Florida. Their numbers may be in decline in some areas where trapping is legal. If you really want to get up close and personal with this snapper, view in Large! Didn't need 5 frames a second for this capture.
Western Pond Turtle on the left, and a Red-Eared Slider (A 'dimestore turtle', as people call them) on the right. The Red-Eared Slider is an invasive species, basically descended from released pet turtles. They are very numerous and get about as big as the other species. This one is just a younger one. We also have Western Painted Turtles here which look a lot like the Red-Eared Slider, but with no distinctive red mark in the ear area, which this one had. Sometimes it's hard to distinguish the turtle species as the striped ones, the Painted, and the Red-Eared, dull, as they age and their colors are not very vivid at all in later life.
In all the time spent at this location, this is the first time I spotted a turtle above water.
Noise from camera shutter caused turtle to look toward me.
...or at least ready for takeoff...
There is growing evidence that turtles have a secret desire to fly. There have been several eye witness accounts and actual images of said turtles, practicing what appears to be flight postures, with legs and head elevated.
This theory is in the process of being investigated. ..... :)
See another image of a turtle trying to fly in 1st comment box :)