This post is going into the Photo-essay community Hive-14396. The requirements are at least 5 photos and 150 words to tell your story. It is a friendly photography community.
My across the street neighbor texted last night to tell me that there was a snapping turtle on her sidewalk! This is certainly not a usual occurrence. In all the years I have lived here I have never seen one.
We both started googling to find out what we could about Common snapping turtles.
It seems that after hibernating all winter, turtles begin feeding and searching for mates. To hunt for food snappers bury themselves in the mud with only their eyes and nostrils showing as a means of ambushing their prey. It sounds like they eat anything that happens past!
In May or June they leave the water to lay their eggs, and this one was looking for the perfect spot for her nest. She must have crossed my yard, then the road and climbed a hill. She even climbed up the doorstep step and was just outside the frontdoor!
Lifting the turtle with your hands is dangerous. Snappers can stretch their necks back across their shell as far as their hind feet on either side to bite. Their bite is powerful enough to break bones
The nest is about 6 inches deep and she probably deposited 30-40 eggs.
Snapping turtle eggs are about the size of golf balls and can take three months to hatch. The hatchlings usually overwinter in the nest. Many nests are destroyed by skunks, raccoons, foxes, and coyotes. My neighbor will put up a wire enclosure to try to protect them.
Her mothering duties are done and by morning she was gone.
beneficiary rewards go to @ecency and @hive-14396
Photos were taken by Vickie, my neighbor.
!BEER
!BEER
View or trade
BEER.Hey @pixresteemer, here is a little bit of
BEERfrom @melinda010100 for you. Enjoy it!Did you know that <a href='https://dcity.io/cityyou can use BEER at dCity game to buy cards to rule the world.
The only things i spot in my garden are hedgehogs and mice , and the cat makes sure they stay outside .
i think the cat would be scared of this turtle , she is not a big hero ;)
Oh, hedgehogs! I would love to see one.
I think your cat would be safe from a snapping turtle. They are not aggressive and only bite to protect themselves.
👏 Keep Up the good work on Hive ♦️ 👏
❤️ @bhattg suggested sagarkothari88 to upvote your post ❤️
🙏 Don't forget to Support Back 🙏
Thank you so much!
@melinda010100, you are most welcome!
Please Support Back
Here is !ALIVE token gift for you
Awesome find!
Snappers have sharp and powerful beak-like mouth that makes them dangerous.
A bite would certainly hurt!
Snappers are dangerous because of their sharp teeth, but I really like this turtle because it is quite interesting
They are interesting! I didn't previously know much about them.
The size of the turtle is quite big, my friend. And your neighbor's act of installing wire to protect it is great. ❤
They can get really huge! 45 pounds- 16kg
It will be interesting to see if the nest is successful!
Man, those things are mean. Growing up we were fond of raiding people's jug lines, we'd take the catfish but leave'em the snappers. They're about the last thing you want to find at the end of a fishing line 😅
Have you ever eaten turtle soup? A friend made it once and it was really quite delicious.
Only a couple times but it's so good. There's a local restaurant here that makes their own.
Wow, I have never seen a turtle with such a long tail. In fact, I have mostly seen turtles without tails. Hopefully, its eggs remain safe, and then its entire family will become your friends forever! :)
Ha! I'm not sure how friendly snapping turtles ever are, but it will be interesting to see if any of these hatch Only 5 percent of eggs laid survive to hatch; and of those only 1 percent may survive to reproductive age.
It seems like they need all the help they can get!
It’s my first time to see a turtle like this. hehe so cute.. Awesome picture.. 😊
Thanks! It is unusual to see them away from the water.
What a cutie turtle, but they cab be scary too ha, if they can break a bone. The best thing to do here is just watch them do their things and leave them alone 🤔💓
Exactly! Look, but don't touch!
Wow Mel, up close like that 😍😍😍😳. Seeing a snapping turtle up close sounds both exciting and a bit scary for me. I can't imagine coming across one on my doorstep. They’re very very fascinating creatures though.
It was an unusual sight to see! Because they live underwater I had not giving much thought to the fact that this Wildlife also lives in my backyard!
Wow this is a rare opportunity you had Mel😍😍😍
Aww the turtle is really struggling to keep pace such a wonderful creation and needs all the help it can get.
It will be interesting to see if some eggs hatch!
This is a life cycle in which one animal preys on another and the prey animal needs some bounty from nature to defend itself. Your post and photographs are very beautiful. @melinda010100
Thank you! You are right. I hope some of the eggs survive and hatch!
!LADY
View or trade
LOHtokens.@rafzat, you successfully shared 0.1000 LOH with @melinda010100 and you earned 0.1000 LOH as tips. (2/4 calls)
Use !LADY command to share LOH! More details available in this post.
I could love to see it someday but am excited that I have learn something about the snappers today.
There are many of them in the river, but I had not seen one on land before.
Thank you for sharing.
I don't know about others, but to me, turtles are adorable, not for eating but as animals, of course, hahaha. Really fascinating photos and information.
I do love turtles, too! Snappers are great at a distance. 😁
I agree with you 😁😁
Whoa, I am never going to lift up this innocent looking creature from now on... Haha
Be certain what you are picking up! 😉
Must be easy being a snapping turtle parent lol
We have lots of snapping turtles around here. They often stop traffic as people wait for them to get to safety on the other side of the road lol
I read that the safest way to help them hurry across is using a car mat or a blanket. Skidding them on the concrete can cause wounds.
View or trade
BEER.Hey @melinda010100, here is a little bit of
BEERfrom @pixresteemer for you. Enjoy it!Did you know that <a href='https://dcity.io/cityyou can use BEER at dCity game to buy cards to rule the world.
But she left you the gift of many buried eggs! They can be dangerous with their bite, smart move just leaving her alone!
!BBH
Turtles are just so cute!!😍