Monday, June 16, 2008

Snapping Turtle











I've been trying to walk the dog in the mornings. It really, really is not fun. But then I think about how much B really, really thinks getting up and going to work is not fun and I suck it up and take the silly dog for a walk. I think though that with perseverance, I could learn to like it.

We have a lovely pathway that runs behind our house, along the catchment for the overflow of the local conservation area pond. 'Nuk and I walk there. Last Monday morning I came around the bend and was met with a flooded pathway. I stopped. Considering whether I could go around the extra water, I noticed a turtle at the side of the path, her back end quite buried in the gravel. Some real nature happening there, folks. Hopefully there'll be baby turtles soon. 'Nuk and I turned and headed home where I pulled out my turtle pictures to hopefully be able to identify the type of turtle she was.

Most turtles are kind of dull coloured. I wasn't having much luck with the identification process. I knew she hadn't any stripes on her nor did she have a multi-coloured shell. That narrowed it down to two endangered species or a snapper.

Fast forward to Thursday morning. Same path. Further along, 'Nuk and I stopped to consider taking the shortcut through the greenbelt home, or do we go back along the path the way we came. It's not yet 8 a.m.; these things need to be pondered. Goodness knows where my brain was, because I suddenly noticed that 'Nuk was very nearly standing on a turtle. It was a big turtle. Shortcut it was! I rushed home with the dog and returned with the camera.

There's a funny part to all of this. Not Funny-funny. But weird-funny. Just a week ago, we got a package from the Toronto Zoo. The Package contained information about Ontario's eight turtle species and the Zoo's Turtle Tally program. And here I was wondering how I was going to be able to find a turtle to tally.

Some pics of the beast:

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Cool! Keep an eye out the next time...chances are, she is there to lay eggs. They like sandy areas...and are not too bright about where they plant their babies LOL!

Nice to see you back...hope R is recovering.

jugglingpaynes said...

That is one big turtle!

Was it a snapper? I thought they have ridges on their back? Of course, all the snappers I've seen were about the size of my hand...

Cristina