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.

Seven-Year-Old Female Diamondback Terrapin #35

The Turtle Journal team discovered a sweet 7-year-old female diamondback terrapin who had joined the Sippican Harbor mating aggregation this season.  A 2005 hatchling, this lovel young lady disappeared during the “lost (juvenile) years,” only to resurface today as a fully grown adult who will help restore the severely threatened Buzzards Bay population. 

Female Terrapin #35 Snorkeling in Sippican Harbor

As we paddled kayaks into the Head of Sippican Harbor, we spotted a couple of terrapins snorkeling in the mid afternoon sunshine.  In a few weeks, as water temperatures rise, this mating area will be filled with many male and female turtles looking love.  Today, only a handful of terrapins are active.  Capturing even one will be a challenge.

Sue Wieber Nourse Turtling by Kayak in Sippican Harbor

Netting terrapins from a kayak is a high skill activity in the best of conditions.  Today hardly qualified as best conditions with a stiff southerly breeze whipping up wave action and stirring the water into a frothy mocha latte.  Game for the challenge, Sue Wieber Nourse charged toward the snorkeling turtle with net at the ready.

Sue Wieber Nourse Net Female Terrapin #35

She smoothly guided the kayak into position and swooped up the turtle racing across the bottom of the harbor.  This gorgeous young female proved a new recruit to the adult terrapin population, a young 7-year-old female who had just reached sexual maturity and will be nesting for the first time this year.

Sue Wieber Nourse and Female Diamondback Terrapin #35

Back on shore, we measured and marked her as diamondback terrapin #35.  Her shell measured nearly 7 inches long and 5.6 inches wide.  It’s interesting to contrast her with Cape Cod terrapins that don’t reach maturity until at least one year later and yet are still nearly an inch shorter in length.

Sue Wieber Nourse Release Female Terrapin #35

We welcomed this newest recruit to the adult terrapin population of Buzzards Bay and released her back into Sippican Harbor.  We hope to find her nesting in early June to continue the cycle and to save her offspring to join the Sippican mating aggregation in 2021.

Female Followed by Two Male Painteds in Courtship Dance

The sun peekaboo’ed through the clouds late this morning, nudging the thermometer into comfortable 50s and low 60s.  The Turtle Journal team bounced across one-lane backroads to a long abandoned bog on the SouthCoast of Massachusetts to investigate goings-on.

Male Spotted Turtle #1001

We found one female (#53) and one male (#1001) basking on the surface of the shallow channels of the spotted turtle mating aggregation.  There was no ongoing mating activity among the spotted turtles, so we moved on.  Sue Wieber Nourse went to observe the painted turtle mating site and Don Lewis headed off to check the status of salamander and frog egg masses.  Being much swifter than us, Rufus did both by bounding back and forth between us.

Female Painted Turtle Followed by Two Males

At the main flooded bog channel, Sue was surprised to happen upon a hot romantic scene in progress.  Two male painted turtles were engaged in a courtship dance with a large beautful female.  The threesome were so ardently absorbed that they missed Sue’s approach. 

Rufus Examines Romantic Painted Turtles

Sue scooped the trio into a net before they knew what was happening.  Rufus checked closely to ensure the turtles were fine and to find out what they were up to.

Beautiful Female Painted Turtle and Male Suitors

The two male suitors are shallower (in girth) and considerably smaller than the gorgeous mature female whom Don knicknamed Helen in honor of Helen of Troy.  She might not launch a thousand ships, but she could certainly move these males to fervent action.

Rufus Joins the Romantic Turtle Trio

Apparently “feeling the love,” Rufus insisted on joining the threesome.  She lay down next to the turtles and gently rested her snout on Helen’s shell.

 Examining Romantic Painted Turtle Trio (Female Left)

We closely examined the specimens to document their health, as well as morphological differences between genders.  One can readily determine the larger girth of the female painted turtle … to accommodate egg production.  The males, as noted above, are smaller and shallower.  Also, the female tail is thinner and smaller than the much larger and thicker male tails.

Comparing Male and Female Painted Turtle Claws

Beyond girth and tail, hints of gender can be derived from the length of claws (nails).  Male claws (nails) are significantly longer than those of females, as clearly illustrated in the photograph above.  The top turtle is the smaller male, the middle is the larger male, and the bottom is the female.

 Male Painted Turtle with Mauled Tail

The smaller male turtle had a severely mauled tail end that occurred long enough ago for it to have completely healed.  Luckily for him, the shredded tail end stopped just below the anal opening, which in males is well beyond the protection of the carapace.

Rufus Bids the Romantic Trio Good-Bye

As we wrapped up processing and prepared to return the threesome back to their mating aggregation, Rufus insisted on sharing her love one last time.  Well, we suppose that’s simply what turtle dogs do.