I found this shy, magnificent specimen this afternoon when I went out to lay in the sun. I saw him moving from a distance and thought he was a woodchuck due to his size. After I came upon him, he wouldn’t extend his head back out, but seemed amicable enough to allow me to take his picture a few times. I’m pretty sure he was a common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) and a rather large one at that. I assume he was a very slow-moving gentleman because virtually his entire body was covered in one sort of slime or another.

EDIT: I’ve been informed it was probably a lady turtle. Unfortunately, I tend to identify all animals as males unless I know for certain they’re a female, and in this case I was too lazy to keep writing “him/her.”

Leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) are the largest species of sea turtle, weighing up to 1,500 lbs. This weight does not hinder the leatherback in the ocean, but when the females come on land to lay their eggs, it can be a matter of life or death. Most sea turtles lay their eggs on the shore at night and if finding a nesting site, digging out a nest, laying their eggs, and getting back into the ocean takes too long, they may be on the beach until sunrise, which poses a major problem. If sea turtles stay out in daylight for too long, they risk desiccation from the hot sun.

(Photo 1 source) (Photo 2 source)

The loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) is one of eight species of sea turtle, all of which are threatened or endangered. These species are endangered in part due to the relatively low success rate of their young finding their way back to the ocean after hatching on shore, but is also due to a variety of human activities. One of the most common threats to sea turtles is being caught in fishing nets. For this reason, scientists developed turtle excluder devices (TEDs) that allow turtles to escape trawling nets. Currently, there are regulations in place that require fishing nets on US vessels to include TEDs, which dramatically decrease the number of turtles dying from being caught in those nets.

Photo © Brian Gratwicke

In the same way the matamata can, the Chinese soft-shelled turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis) can use its elongated snout as a sort of snorkel while underwater, so individuals do not have to fully surface to breathe. This species is not able to withdraw fully into its shell, but it can deliver a painful bite when threatened.

(Photo source)

A mata mata (Chelus fimbriatus) is a freshwater turtle that inhabits the Amazon and Orinoco basins in South America. The bizarre turtles are entirely aquatic, although they prefer shallow, stagnant water, where they can easily reach their head out of water to breathe.

The mata mata can grow quite large, up to 33 pounds (15 kilograms). They feed on invertebrates and fish and aren’t dangerous to people, despite their appearance.

Mata mata are fairly sensitive to water quality, both in captivity and in the wild, so they can be harmed by pollutants.

Photograph by Alessandro Mancini, Alamy

A red-crowned river turtle ­seems to smile in the face of uncertainty.

“More than 40 percent of the planet’s freshwater turtle species are threatened with extinction—making them among the most threatened groups of animals on the planet,” Peter Paul van Dijk, director of Conservation Insternational’s Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Conservation Program stated in a press release. “Their decline is an indicator that the freshwater ecosystems that millions of people rely on for irrigation, food, and water are being damaged in a manner that could have dire consequences for people and turtles alike.”

Photograph courtesy Peter Paul van Dijk, Conservation International

(source)

To escape the hot Mexican Chihuahuan desert sun, Coahuilan box turtles chill in the waters of Laguna de los Burros.

Unique among the world’s box turtles, these endangered animals are aquatic and spend perhaps 90 percent of their day in the springs, rivers, and pools of Mexico’s Cuatro Cienegas wetlands. Only a few thousand of the turtles exist, and since the 1960s, their habitat has been cut in half by irrigation and drought.

Worldwide, freshwater species extinction rates are four to six times higher than those of terrestrial or marine species.

Photograph by George Grall

(source)

The Rosamond Gifford Zoo is now caring for 27 yellow-spotted Amazon River turtles.
The turtles hatched between April 5 and April 12.
“The hatching of these once endangered species is exciting for us, as many of them will enhance the exhibits at other accredited zoos around the country,” said zoo director Ted Fox.
Named for the yellow spots on the side of its head, they are one of the largest river turtles in South America.
The Rosamond Gifford Zoo is one of just 70 institutions in the world to house yellow-spotted Amazon River turtles.
The baby turtles will be on exhibit at the zoo for a limited time and will eventually be transferred to zoos and aquariums around the country including the National Aquarium and the Charles Paddock Zoo in Atascadero, Calif.

That’s my zoo at home!! So proud of them.

Loggerhead Turtle (Caretta caretta)

Length: 0.7m - 1.0m

Location: Tropical and warm temperate waters worldwide

Pictured with this loggerhead is a turtle excluder device (TED). Since the invention of TEDs, the number of sea turtles caught as bycatch has decreased quite a bit. Since all 8 species of sea turtles are endangered, this is a really big (and awesome) deal. They’re essentially like trap doors that get fitted to fishing nets that allow the turtles to get out but somehow keep the fish in. Sounds like voodoo magic to me, but they work!

creepicrawlies:

Baby loggerhead turtle