Nesting turtles

Been monitoring turtles for some years now in various places. These are snappers. Just recently put onto the Species At Risk List as Special Concern. ( 2012 ) I beleive. Although we seem to see many. Many of the females are the ones who get hit and killed every spring when they are on the move.If you see a turtle at the side of the road and it is hit. Please pull over and check it out. IF IT IS SAFE FOR YOU TO DO SO.They are not always dead. And in fact. If you see a dead turtle you also may be able to save her eggs if it is a female. Take it to Kawartha Turtle Trauma Center in Peterborough and they will check it out. Eggs can be extracted and incubated and saved. Turtles can also be fixed up and saved. Their link is on this blog to the left. So click on there and check them out. It really is amazing what they can do. Never hover over a turtle who is laying her eggs. Give her lots of space. Never ever touch or move eggs. It is illegal and if you don't know what you are doing you will kill the embryo. Some things just must be left to the pro's. Turtles don't always find the right spot right away. It may take many holes and many days to find it. That is okay. They must find that " Right " spot. Right temperature and texture. May not be right in the destination for them in the safety department. But they don't care about that. . But then again. Most of these large breeding turtles have made it to a ripe old age of 50 upwards to 100 and the roads,cottages and developments weren't there then. And to them. There not here now either. This is their spot and they are going to come back year after year.Habitat loss,and road mortality are 2 of the big reasons turtles are declining in numbers.  

                                      Female snapper digging her nest. taken with cell phone.

A lot of work,it takes hours,but they are strong and do it every year. They never see their young. They lay the eggs and cover em up. And off they go. Hopefully they make it. But statistics say that only 1% of  young actually survive their first year. As in all wildlife species. The first year is the hardest. Get past that and your on a roll. 

 Newly hatched snapping turtle. So amazing.Just hangin out. Its a strenuous job breaking out of an egg under ground and then digging your way to the surface. That is when life really begins. Can you make it to water before you get predated? These little ones who needed it got a helping hand.

 This one was predated in the nest. Nothing left. Mother nature takes care of her own. All living things no matter what they are. Are food for something else. And no matter what we think or try to do. It is the way it is suppose to be and you do not want to upset that balance .And believe me. Man can be very good at that one. Not that we don't mean well. It is just that everything was put here for a reason. Like it or not. That is life.

A little one popping its head out into the real world. Amazing site to see. These little snappers are only the size of a toonie. If you are walking in turtle nesting areas in the spring. Watch out for them. Very hard to see.

         They don't come outta that hole clean. Some times they look like a little ball of dirt or clay.

                                             The end result. A little mini mom.( and Dad).