Turtle time!

October 8, 2024 - Tonight, Pépère and I were coming home from walking Cheddar at our neighbourhood pond when we saw something very curious on our street. It was a tiny baby snapping turtle, about the size of a quarter. It was a long way from the pond and close to the street, where it could get run over.

We had hoped to see baby turtles hatch in August. Snapping turtles dig nests in the ground close to ponds and creeks to lay their eggs. We saw two big mama snapping turtles digging holes for their eggs in June. My friend Katsu is a professional naturalist, and he makes special enclosures to put over turtle nests so skunks, foxes and raccoons can’t dig up the nests and eat the turtle eggs. Turtles are an at-risk species, which means they need to be protected or someday there may not be any more of them.

We missed out on seeing any babies hatch in late August or early September, as you never know exactly when they are going to crawl out of their underground nests.

It was a big surprise to see this tiny turtle on the street far from where it likely hatched. We got a little plastic container from our house, put the turtle in it, then took it to the bank of the pond and let it go. It sat still for a few minutes, then looked around. Then it got its tiny turtle legs moving and marched right into the pond, and started burrowing into the mud. Cold weather is coming, and it and the snappers in the pond will bury themselves into mud at the bottom of the pond during the winter.

I know another secret place where turtles live, but they are painted turtles. When it’s warm, the turtles line up and pile on each other along a big log in the hidden swamp. They like the warmth of the sun on their shells. The painted turtles have yellow stripes on their faces, and red markings on their shells and feet. It looks like someone painted them those colours. Some sit on the log, some swim and some float. If they get scared, the turtles on the log hop into the water with a big plop!

#turtles #snappingturtles #granddaughtermemories