The Turtle Whisperer

Back a month or so ago, Alex found the largest snapping turtle we have ever seen on our property crawling through my front yard.  Of course, we grabbed him and turned him into turtle soup for Texas.

Well, yesterday (April 15) I found ANOTHER one crawling in about the exact same location in my yard.  This one was much smaller, and it was a female.  And wow, was she aggressive!

Snapping turtle season has ended*, so I could not turn her into soup.  But she was so tiny anyways it would probably have not been worth my time to clean her.

I grabbed a stick to distract the biting end and picked her up by the tail.  Although I know she is looking for a nesting site, I carried her over to the pond.  Not only is there a water source there, but there is plenty of habitat suitable for a nest site.

Why we have seen two snapping turtles in my front yard in less than a month is beyond me.  I guess we just have attractive habitat - or, I could be the Turtle Whisperer!

* Snapping turtle season goes out for a few months during the nesting period (April - May for Indiana).  Once the eggs are laid in the nest, they are not attended to by either parent.  The little hatchings are left to fend for themselves.  Thus, once the females have laid their eggs, season comes back in.


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