On Friday April 22, I went into Mount Pleasant to visit my parents for the weekend. It had been raining almost the entire day so the sides of the road were flooded with water. Down the road from my parent's house, I spotted a turtle on the side of the road. I walked over to see if it was ok and to identify it. Upon further inspection, I discovered that it was a common snapping turtle,Chelydra serpentina. Snapping turtles are fairly easy to identify. They typically have a large pointed head, a small plastron and a long tail with a saw-toothed appearance. The tail can be as long as the shell. They also have a highly mobile head and neck, which makes them risky told hold. These turtles are between 8-17 inches long and can weigh from 10-35 lbs.
Some other people on the street came out to inspect the turtle with me. My parents live in a typical residential neighborhood, but there is a pond behind the houses across the street, so I assumed that was where the turtle had come from since snapping turtles inhabit fresh water. Worried that it might get hit by a car, some onlookers attempted to pick the snapping turtle up in order to bring it to the pond, but the aggressive nature of the turtle deterred many. Snapping turtles are not social creatures and this turtle definitely held true to that. Every time someone tried to pick it up, the turtle would snap with lightning speed and claw at the person's hands. No one was able to safely pick the turtle up. After awhile, we decided that it was best to leave it alone because the turtle was obviously getting very angry. Because no one was able to pick the turtle up, I was unable to view its plastron. I could not determine what sex the turtle was. Males and females of this species are typically the same size. After watching the turtle for awhile, it eventually started making its way back to the pond on its own. I was excited to see and be able to identify such a cool specimen outside of class!
(Lauren Jindracek, SC)
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