Turtle Journal

Male Snapping Turtle at SouthCoast Bog

For the Turtle Journal team, Spring isn’t really Spring until snapping turtles begin to prowl, looking for love in all the right and wrong places.  And when you’re a mature male snapping turtle, like the handsome critter above, no one is foolish enough to tell you that you’re in the wrong place.

First Prowling Snapper at Washburn Park

Sue Wieber Nourse and Rufus encountered the first snapper on the prowl on Friday, May 3rd.  This healthy and feisty male emerged from swampy wetlands to cross the walking path into the large reservoir at Washburn Park.  He was particularly unamused to find Sue and Rufus in his way, and he employed Darth Vader-like hissing and multiple power snaps to clear these inconvenient mammalian obstacles from his determined path.  You may know that a snapper turtle’s neck can stretch (a.k.a. snap) nearly half the length of its shell quicker than human brain and body can react.

Male Snapping Turtle in SouthCoast Bog

On Saturday, we visited a large, quiet SouthCoast cranberry bog for another chance to see these living prehistoric fossils in action.  We walked along bog channels and peered into a deep mucky “elbow” pool.  Through the murk we could just make out the spooky shape of  a giant shelled reptile lying on the bottom, something straight from the Jurassic era as though beamed through the ages by an H.G. Wells Time Machine.

“You’re Gonna Need a Bigger Net!”

Don Lewis carried his trusty sampling net, jerry-rigged with a long, eight foot extension pole.  He scooted down the bank and scooped the large snapper from the murky water.  Normally used for capturing terrapins and small fresh water turtles, the poor net bowed and groaned under the weight and the fight response of this impressive reptile.  In the back of his head, Don heard echoes of Jaws’ Chief Brody, “You’re gonna need a bigger net!”

Rufus Gives Snapper a Wide Berth

Nevertheless, Don lifted the snapper to the top of the bank where Rufus had supervised the struggle.  She decided to give this aggressive critter a wide berth and to let humans handle the situation.

Snapping Turtle Plastron

One reason I believe that snappers are so aggressive, compared to terrapins and box turtles and painted turtles and spotted turtles, is the small plastron that guards its underbelly.  Unlike those other species that are well protected by a hard shell from potential predators, snappers’ soft meaty parts are exposed and vulnerable.  Best strategy for a snapper is to force potential threats to keep their distance with a powerful snap and claws the thickness and the strength of railroad spikes.  Does a Tyrrannosaurus rex come to mind?

Snapping Turtle’s Dinosaur-Like Tail

Snappers have an extraordinary tail that seems straight from the dinosaur design book.  The humps and bumps along its luxurious length remind us of a sauropod, as does its thickness and strength.  Next to a chomp from its snappy jaws and a tear from its steely claws, our least favorite choice would be to sustain the whip of its powerful dinosaur-like tail.

Male Snapping Turtle Up Close and Personal

Whatever the rationale for their aggresssive behavior, Turtle Journal must admit that it seems to work very well … for perhaps 200 million years.  Few folks and even fewer critters  have the infinite bravado and the infintesimal good sense to confront an angry snapping turtle without utmost caution and protection.  The Turtle Journal team finds snapping turtles irresistible reminders of a time long, long forgotten.  They remain near the top of our list of favorite turtle species.

Male Terrapin in Outer Cape Mating Aggregation

May 2nd brought perfect turtling conditions to Outer Cape Cod with bright sunshine, a light breeze and a noon astronomically low tide.  Visibility in the South Wellfleet mating aggregation was exceptional as illustrated by the photograph above as this male diamondback terrapin swam through the clear tidal water.  We sampled turtles in this prime Outer Cape mating aggregation to assess the level of activity in this late spring season.  We discovered, unsurprisingly, that love is in the air … and in the water, too … on Outer Cape Cod.

Rufus the Turtle Dog Tracks Male Diamondback Terrapin

In less than 30 minutes, with Rufus’ help of course, we captured and processed 22 turtles, all mature adults.  No prepubescent juveniles were observed.  Ten turtles were marked specimens; 12 were new and had never been seen before.  Netting that many turtles in so short a period of time is an indication both of the level of mating activity and the perfect conditions.  Notice Rufus tracking the male terrapin in the lower right corner of the picture.

Female Diamondback Terrapin #834

Of the ten known turtles, several were old friends.  Female Diamondback Terrapin #834 has been tracked by the Turtle Journal team since 2000.  We’ve learned a great deal about this lady in the last 13 years.  We know that she nests on dirt roadway Way #100 on Lieutenant Island and now we know her mating aggregation location.

Terrapin #834 Emerges from Brumation in 2009

Terrapin #834 is one of the first terrapins in Wellfleet Harbor to reveal her brumation site.  The “before and after” pictures from late April 2009 show Terrapin #834 as she emerged from winter brumation in Wrong Step Creek near the Lieutenant Island causeway.  The black ooze visible in the picture on the right is the spot where the Turtle Journal team watched her rise from the primordial ooze.

Male Diamondback Terrapin #8127

We were a bit surprised by the ratio of 15 males to seven females, especially since in capturing terrapins there is a decided bias in favor of netting the larger females.  Male terrapins are just a tad more than half the length and less than a quarter of the mass of female terrapins.

Female Diamondback Terrapin #118

Another old friend we found was Terrapin #118, the Grande Dame of Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary.  She has been observed in our longitudinal study since 1988; that is, for the last quarter century.

Female Terrapin #118 with Distinctive Forked “Devil’s” Tail

Terrapin #118 nests along the Sanctuary’s Goose Pond Trail and she is easily recognizable because of her distinctive forked (Devil’s) tail, documented since her first sighting in August 1988. 

We hope to see Terrapin #834 nesting on Lieutenant Island in early June and Terrapin #118 strolling along the Goose Pond Trail on a nesting run around the same time.   Then, with any luck, we’ll observe a repeat performance in early July for the second nest of the season for each of these ladies.