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Reflections in Nature: Give crossing turtles a brake

June is the month when snapping turtles are often seen crossing the road. These are the female turtles searching for nest sites.

Both males and females become sexually mature when their shells are approximately eight inches long. Mating occurs in the water during the spring, summer and early fall months. Some biologists believe that the male’s sperm remains viable in the female for several years, meaning that mating does not have to occur every year.

Females nest from May through September, with the peak of the nesting season being in June. A female snapping turtle could lay as many as 40 eggs at one time. However, nests with 70 or more eggs have been reported, but never documented. It has also been reported that some females lay more than one clutch of eggs.

The female could travel up to a mile in search of the right spot to make a nest. The female selects an open and sunny area for the nest site. Moist soil is a requirement for the nest since compacted dry soil makes it very hard for the turtle to dig a nest. These nest sites are not necessarily located near water.

The nest, which is dug using the back feet, will consist of a slanting hole approximately one foot wide and several inches deep. On the average, one egg per minute is laid. An egg, which is round and the size of a ping-pong ball, can bounce off without breaking. Once the egg-laying process begins, the female continues laying eggs without interruption until she is finished. After the eggs are laid, the female uses her hind legs to push the eggs into the hole and then covers the site so it is concealed.

Usually, by September the warmth of the sun has hatched the eggs; however, the eggs could lie dormant in some areas during the winter months and hatch the following spring. Once hatched the young turtles must make their way to water. Although biologists are not sure how the young turtles know where to find water, they suspect humidity and the position of the sun play a part.

A young turtle turned in the wrong direction will turn around and head for the nearest water. With the exception of man, adult snapping turtles have few enemies. However, young snapping turtles have soft shells for the first year of their lives, which makes them prey for a host of birds, animals and even large fish. Raccoons, skunks and other animals will often dig up the turtle eggs before hatching.

The snapping turtle is long lived, possibly reaching the age of 25 years. All turtles seem to reach their full growth within 12 years. Although a turtle will continue to grow throughout its life, growth is ever so slight after 12 years. Many wonder just how large a snapping turtle can be. In the wild, the weight can be 15 to 30 pounds. One 16-pound snapping turtle shell’s length was measured 15 inches in length and 14 inches in width. The head and neck measured 11 inches in length, with a 12-inch tail. Add this size to the snapping turtle’s disposition, and you’ll understand why it is a handful when grabbed. Females are generally larger than males.

In olden days, sailors would place snapping turtles in a swill barrel to fatten so they could have fresh meat while at sea. After several months at sea, one snapping turtle kept alive reached an unbelievable weight of 86 pounds. The expression “turn turtle” dates back to the 19th century and alludes to the practice of sailors turning turtles over on their backs, making them helpless for easier capturing.

Turtles eat whatever they are able to catch, such as young or old ducks, frogs, fish, tadpoles, crayfish and snails. The snapping turtle has two methods of hunting, and one is stalking its prey.

When a turtle is approaching a meal it will do so very slowly, and at the very last moment, its head is thrust forward at an unbelievable speed. The fierce jaws snap down on its victim, giving no possible chance to escape. The second method is by burying itself in the muddy bottom of a pond, with only its head protruding. The turtle sticks its long worm-like tongue out as an unwary fish swims by. The fish assumes the tongue is a worm and thinks it is a meal, but the fish becomes the meal.

Although turtle shells are bone hard, a turtle must have some feeling since it reacts to the shell being either touched or scraped.

Turtles are able to go a long time without eating, possibly up to a year. Reptiles are almost entirely dependent on the temperature of their surroundings to regulate their own body temperature. This is the reason that the common snapping turtle is not found in either the Arctic or Antarctic. Birds and mammals are warm-blooded, which is a condition known as homoeothermic, coming from the Greek word homoios, meaning like or similar. The temperature of the blood remains the same under all conditions and is automatically controlled by the nervous system. The temperature is higher in birds (about 106 F) than mammals.

Be on the lookout for snapping turtles crossing the road, and “GIVE THEM A BRAKE.”

Bill Bower is a retired Pennsylvania Game Commission Wildlife Officer. Read his blog and listen to his podcasts on the outdoors at www.onemaningreen.com.

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