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Project Noah Nature School
Terrapene carolina triunguis
The carapace is relatively high and dome-shaped with a low keel running down the midline. The carapace is brown, but may have an indistinct pattern of yellow to orange lines and spots. An older individual may be patternless and have a pitted shell. The unpatterned plastron is tan to dark brown and has a hinge. In a male, the posterior part of the plastron is slightly concave. Some males have a great deal of red or orange coloration on the head. Normally, this turtle has only three toes on the hind foot, but occasionally it has four. The hind feet are rather stumpy and not webbed. The male usually has red eyes, whereas a female has yellow or brown eyes. (information from "A Field Guide to Oklahoma's Amphibians and Reptiles")
This box turtle was found in a busy part of town, but it has just enough wild area to harbor animals such as snakes, turtles, red foxes, and other urban mammals such as raccoons and skunks. I once found a box turtle with profanity written on its shell, and while that is still the winner in my book, this particular turtle is as painted up as I've ever seen.
Spotted on May 12, 2012
Submitted on May 27, 2012
8 Comments
Poor little turtle. Glad it has a new home where it can be safe.
Yes, now that we have an explanation of why the turtle was removed from the wild, it can be considered a rescue.
Maybe this one qualifies for the wildlife rescue mission? http://www.projectnoah.org/missions/9974...
Goody - ok, thanks for filling me in on the story. That's good that it isn't in the wild! I just didn't want this spotting to set an example... or give others ideas to paint turtle shells, especially with a lot of young students on the site now that the Education portal in Project Noah is up and running.
I see your point, Neil, and I agree with your sentiment. I didn't paint this turtle, nor have I ever taken paint to one. It was brought to the zoo and dumped by a good Samaritan, most likely because it was found in a busy part of town and they didn't want it to get run over (as I mentioned in my notes). The person dropped it off in the admission office without giving a specific location so one of our staff members took it home. This turtle is no longer living in the wild.
Goody, I have mixed feelings on this spotting. On the one hand, it is cute that a child painted this box turtle. On the other hand, the colored painting can possibly have a detrimental effect to the animal. Box turtle shells are an excellent from of camouflage - they are patterned so they blend in with the leaf litter on forest floors. The bright colors from the paint make this individual much more noticeable to predators. So, given what I just wrote, I think that these images go against the spirit of Project Noah. This type of thing should not be lauded on this site. I would suggest either removing this spotting entirely, or at least put some text at the top of the description that clearly states why people should not paint turtle shells. That's just my opinion, from a life-long turtle lover. :)
The blue looks like a child's hand print. This is awesome.
Love the paint job! HA!