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Project Noah Nature School
Chelydra serpentina
What I believe to be a very large, female Snapping Turtle covered in freshwater flora
We found her next to a gravel road in the Tamarac Wildlife Refuge a few hundred feet from one of the lakes.
I've never met a Snapping Turtle I didn't like and this one was no exception. We passed her in the car, pulled over, I got out and slowly approached her while talking to her in a gentle voice. She never threatened or hissed at me and after a dozen pictures I switched to a short video of her which I'll try to upload here as well. I believe she came out of the fresh water lake to lay her eggs in the sand, gravel or sandy soil near the road. This one in particular was about the size of an average pickup truck tire, maybe slightly larger. Here's the video link in case it doesn't work for me again: http://youtu.be/xmmzxy0I4T0
Spotted on Jun 15, 2012
Submitted on Jan 19, 2013
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