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The turtle recovery program at Rondeau has reached the release stag.
Nest are dug up in the spring as soon as they are laid and the GPS location .
This is to protect the eggs from predators such as raccoons.
The eggs are placed in incubators and after hatching are released back at the original nest sites.
I provided the turtle taxi.
Graptemys geographica
Northern map turtles inhabit large rivers and lakes with slow-moving water and a soft bottom. They require high-quality water that supports the female’s mollusc prey. These turtles may congregate in areas with abundant basking sites.
source - Ontario Nature.
This trio of turtles was climbing all over each other, trying to get the best place on the rock! Just one of the many displays at the Marine Science Center in Ponce Inlet, Florida, these were relatively small compared to the large sea turtles that were in the large tanks outside this room where they were being rehabilitated. The folks at the science center rescue local wildlife in trouble, and nurse it back to health, all the while, educating people about some of the creatures we share out area with that often go unnoticed.
The common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) is a large freshwater turtle of the family Chelydridae. Its natural range extends from southeastern Canada, southwest to the edge of the Rocky Mountains, as far east as Nova Scotia and Florida. This species and the larger alligator snapping turtle are the only two species in this family found in North America.
Snapping turtles have fierce dispositions, but when encountered in the water, they usually slip quietly away from any disturbance. Snapping turtles have evolved the ability to snap because, unlike other turtles, they are too large to hide in their shells when confronted. Snapping is their defense mechanism. Snapping turtles will bite humans if threatened, but as a last resort. The turtle will try to scare off threats by hissing before it bites.
The common snapping turtle is an aquatic ambush hunter, capturing its prey with its beak-like jaws.
I found this one at Dinner Island Ranch in Hendry County, Florida.
I wanted to help it clean its nose out (Rock or Booger in it), but decided that I wanted to keep all my fingers for a while longer. So I chose not to go that route.
I came across this conga-line of turtles in the beautiful and expansive Lee Metcalf Wildlife Refuge in Stevensville, MT.
They were perched on a partially submerged tree branch in
shallow water. I used a telephoto lens to seemingly get this close to them, but I really wasn't all that close. After the photo session was over and I slowly turned to leave, the foursome plopped into the water. Sometimes you just get lucky.
Some turtles on a rock in Xujiahui Park.
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Thiy turtle crossed our way today at Emerson Point near Bradenton (FL). It not even seemed to take notice of us, so I could take a few good shots.
This was a small snapping turtle (about 10 inches) and it was on the shoulder of the road. We had no gloves in the car to pick it up and help but watched as it safely arrived on the other side across two lanes of traffic.
Kawartha Lakes, Ontario
Bird Island | Seychelles
Hawksbill Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata)
Following on from my previous comments about this species.
As part of Bird Island’s ongoing conservation programme, as many Hawksbill Turtles as possible are measured and tagged after laying – a procedure that my wife Tris and I have been privileged to share on many an occasion. We have also encountered a number of turtles laying when we have been on our own and, consequently, have been responsible for obtaining the tag numbers. There is usually a tag on each front flipper so, in theory, it’s just a simple case of recording the numbers, but sometimes this is easier than others. Although the process of coming out of the sea, up the beach to find a suitable nesting site, digging, laying and the covering up phase can take over two hours, there is a sudden sense of urgency when the job is done and all they want to do is get back to the sea as quickly as possible! For this reason, the best time to approach them to take their tag numbers is during the covering-up process. Normally you can just rub your fingers over the metal tags to remove any sand deposits so that you can read the numbers. Sometimes though this isn’t possible due to their position, particularly if they’ve made their way under bushes to lay, so you have to wait until they’re out in the open and ready to head back down the beach. It’s then a case of just holding her for a few seconds so that the tag numbers can be read. I’ve been shown how to hold them properly so I know what I’m doing, but to actually restrain them is far more difficult than you’d think, because, although relatively small as far as turtles go, they are remarkably strong creatures. I remember one of the very first times I had to do this when the turtle was near the sea - I thought I was going to be pulled in after her. I had visions of ending up on a beach on another island!
Whilst respecting their situation at all times, you can also approach a turtle when they are laying. However, if you’re walking around the beach and see a turtle in the shallows looking for a suitable spot to come in, or one that is already on the beach in the process of finding a nesting site and/or starting to dig, then it is essential to keep your distance. If a turtle is disturbed before laying, or doesn’t like the beach area she’s chosen, she will simply return to the sea to come up another time. The evidence of this is often seen when you find tracks in the sand that show one has come out and back in again without laying. Sometimes these tracks are short, but other times, particularly at the remote north end of the island, they can extend over distances exceeding 150m or more.
They lay up to 200 eggs at a time, so hatchings can be large and quite exciting to watch for those that are fortunate to witness. Whilst Hawksbills are protected, they still have to ensure that their chosen nest site is in a safe location well above the high-tide line to guard against crab predation. But, at the same time, hatchlings need to be given a fighting chance of reaching the sea alive before being attacked by crabs or picked off by gulls or frigatebirds, which means that they don’t really want to nest further from the sea than necessary.
To walk round Bird Island and spot a turtle coming in to lay is a very special experience.
NB. please have a look at some of the other photos in my 'Turtles' album.
This post is all for my youngest. He loves turtles. We keep seeing everyone else post photos of turtles and I had yet (till now) post any of "Jared's turtle's. We saw all these turtle when we were in Florida and I can tell you that it took awhiiiiiile to get through a place with so many turtles hanging around for Jared to look at. Sooo....Welcome to Jared's World of turtles(and relitives). Trust me...to him they are alll turtles big or small.