Big Snappin’ Turtle is Tearin’ up my Lawn

Walked out of my front door this morning, just minding my own business, when I noticed there was something unusual out in the front yard.  It turned out to be a large Snapping Turtle about 18” long and 12” wide, the biggest I’ve ever seen.

Apparently she had been busy all night tearing up the grass, digging holes in the ground, laying her eggs and covering them up.  I counted at least 3 separate nests freshly dug and covered over.  Turtles can lay anywhere from 10 - 96 eggs, which hatch entirely on their own in 2-3 months.  Raccoons are very serious predators and are known to dig up turtle nests to eat the eggs.  I may have to start thinning out the Raccoon population around here a bit.

I grabbed my camera and crept closer to snap some pictures, not wanting to disturb her too much and scare her away.  I stopped my approach just as she started to retract her head inside her shell, so I couldn’t get too close.  The reason her shell looks kind of strange is because it’s covered with mud & algae.

You know, with all the space around my house, this turtle could have torn up the grass and dug holes anywhere in my BACK yard instead of right in my FRONT yard . . . stupid turtle!

Labels: Home and Garden