Common Snapping Turtle

For our field trip on March 26th, we visited the local Dixie Plantation. By retrieving traps previously placed in the water, we were able to identify and observe some pretty cool creatures. My favorite of the whole day was the common snapping turtle, or Chelydra serpentina. We found this feisty buddy in one of the turtle traps, and it took awhile to get him out of the trap due to the fact that we couldn't touch him (unless one of us was willing to lose a finger).

The individual that we found was a fairly large adult snapping turtle; by an estimate, I would say about 3 feet long. The common snapping turtle has a very long neck. Unless they feel threatened or attacked, it may not look like they have an abnormally long neck. However, when the turtle felt threatened, we observed its ability to extend its neck. When we approached the turtle too closely, the individual extended its neck as a defense mechanism and had its powerful jaws ready to strike. These turtles have extremely mobile heads and limbs, a flexible neck, as well as long tails and claws. Common snapping turtles are highly aquatic organisms, but may occasionally bask. This specific individual was found in a trap right off the bank of the river. While attempting to release and guide the individual back to the water, it was seen that its main response to our presence was "fight," and not "flight." These are highly defensive turtles. Instead of attempting to flee to the water, it stuck around and was ready to attack if needed. The turtle finally made its way back into the water after our class stopped interacting with it and was close enough to move into the water without feeling that it was vulnerable to danger.

This was one of my favorite interactions I had with a herp on a field trip throughout the entire semester. Even though we weren't able to hold the turtle, I loved observing its behavior. One thing I repeatedly noticed was how quickly it was able to move its neck or body when it felt threatened. As we approached the animal and tried to flip it over, it kept rotating and snapping its beak-like jaw at us at a remarkable speed. It took us a solid 10 minutes of effort to flip it on its back!