Snapper
May 9, 2012
We don’t often come upon snapping turtles on the path or on the road at Radnor Lake. This fellow (his shell about a foot in diameter) had crawled up through the algae that is reforming on the lake with the warmer temperatures, and parked himself squarely in the middle of the road. He was quite a conversation piece, and seemed pleased to pose for his photograph, despite his greenish tinge.
We have them around here too, and they can be rather large. You actually can see them hibernating under the ice on the local ponds if there is no snow on top.
They have quite a set of jaws, and can inflict quite a bite. I held a pencil up to one, and he bit it right in half in a mini-second. Snap!
They also can cruise under ducklings and grab them by their feet and drag them under the surface and eat them.
In the spring when they migrate from pond to pond, they get run over, but nobody seems very sad.
I would be sad! There was a big snapper on the road at Radnor about a year ago that had a huge gouge taken out of its neck. There was a ranger there looking, too, and we wanted him to do something! WE weren’t going to, naturally, but neither was he. It was just too bad, but what happens in nature, just happens. The rangers do not intervene. I would be sad for the duckling, too. That would be a very bad day for the duckling.
Very festive, the snapper looks dapper in his spring green. He must be headed for a turtle wedding. I always wondered how turtles dress up for such occasions.
Great shot!
We should have walked this morning!
We were fooled by the early morning weather again!
I would be careful of my fingers and toes. Those critters are deadly…to ducklings and appendages. Nice image.
I was being careful, lest I suffer the same fate as the bunny with the beagle! BTW, bon voyage tomorrow.