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Friday, June 19, 2009

Turtle Crossing

It's the time of year that we find turtles everywhere. We have them all around the house, and you can't hardly walk across the yard without tripping over one. Even Jake and Just Harry have found one, and Butchy and Snickers have written about finding two in their koi ponds. Now, look what My Girl and My Boy found while walking down the road. Yes, that's right Butchy and Snickers! Your alligator snapping turtle must have Delta-Dashed herself to Oklahoma to visit us in the hollow. We've decided to call her Earnhardt after the NASCAR driver. Here are a few snapper facts:
1. The average weight of an adult alligator snapping turtle is 175 pounds, and their lifespan is about 30 years in the wild (longer in captivity).
2. They are the largest freshwater turtle in North America, with a record weight of 236 pounder living in the Chicago Zoo.
3. They can stay submerged for up to three hours at a time.
4. Typically, only nesting females venture out on land.
5. They have spikes and raised plates on their shell, and often are covered in algae.

What a beauty she is! My Boy and My Girl left her alone after the photo session, and she mosied on down the road. We hope we'll see her again.

~Tell

11 comments:

Asta said...

Tell
Youw boy and giwl made a tewwific discovewy..Eawnhawdt suwe twaveled faw fwom Butchy and Snickew's house..I hope he's not lost..do you have a big pond neaw you?

Hope you'we having a gweat weekend
smoochie kisses
ASTA

Gus said...

OMD..that turtle is uglier than Teka!

Agatha and Archie said...

WOW!! All the way from B+S's house!! and we thought those kids were slow!!!!!! Loe and kisses A+A

Noah the Airedale said...

Thanks for those interesting facts Tell. We don't have those snapping turtles here in Oz....well not that we know of anyway hehe.
Hopefully it wont get squished on the road....eeeeep.

tailwags
Noah x

Jake of Florida said...

So it's turtle time in Oklahoma too.

Here in South Florida, turtles are in danger of being scooped up and sent off to Asia for dinner. It's gotten to be a huge worry.

Also, we have sea turtles -- some of which are endangered -- that come lay their eggs on the beaches but can get disoriented by the lights of the adjacent residences.

Are you keeping an eye on Earhardt?

Jake and Just Harry

Molly the Airedale said...

Those nasty turtles live in our pond and eat our ducks! Dad relocates them whenever he catches one of them! We never knew all of those facts! Thank you!

Love ya lots,
Maggie and Mitch

TwoSpecialWires said...

We're seeing lots of turtles here, now that we're in north Florida. But they don't look like snappers. These are big lazy lugs who sunbathe on the shores near the golf course ponds. Sort of like us. A good nap in the sun is nice pretty much anywhere.

Jake and Fergs

Princess Patches said...

What a great find! We like the name too...Earnhardt is our mom's favorite driver, but he seems to be going at "turtle" speed lately!

Aire-hugs,
Poppy, Penny & Patches

Dewey Dewster said...

Geez....Pap would be excited ta find a turtle....we rarely ever see 'em around here at all....'n when Pap was a kid everyone had a box turtle...now the snappin' turtles are in the ponds up at our cottage and one of the neighbors traps 'em fer turtle soup....I won't tell ya how he does 'em in before he cooks 'em....to graphic fer bloggers of all ages...but they say the soup is spectacular...

Hope ya find some more...they cetainly are cute....

Dewey Dewster here....

Eric said...

Eekkk, think Earhardts kind of creepy. I'll be very careful when I next get to put my paw in the big pee your side.

Wiry wags n kissies, Eric xx

Buster the Wired Fox Terror said...

We get big ole turtles too! They eat the mangoes that fall of f the trees.

Bussie Kissies
Buster