Turtle Journal

Why Did This Snapper Cross the Road?

Returning to Turtle Journal headquarters from a nesting terrapin call in the Narrows of Wareham, Sue Wieber Nourse encountered a tragedy in the making on busy Route 6 that serves as a tourist gateway to Cape Cod as we approach the beginning of Memorial Day Weekend.  A medium sized female snapping turtle decided that it was time to make her annual pilgrimage from her wetlands home on the north side of Route 6 to her nesting site on the south side of the highway.  The only obstacle that lay between her and her goal was a four lane highway with cars and trucks whizzing by in both directions. 

To Get to the Other Side, of Course

Wieber Nourse spotted the snapper edging across the highway as high speed traffic dodged and swerved around her.  The chances of this snapping turtle making it “to the other side” were quite similar to a snowball’s chance of surviving a trip into the raging pit of an erupting volcano.  She stopped her car and waded into the traffic to save the snapper.

Humans Rescue Snapping Turtle from Humans

Out of nowhere a couple of everyday heroes arose to assist Wieber Nourse in the quest.  One of these young gentlemen gingerly lifted the snapper and carefully maneuvered her back to the side of the highway.  Unfortunately, the wrong side of the highway.  Since the snapper had already endured more than enough human “assistance,” it was going to be a challenge, indeed, to lift and carry her back across four lanes of pre-holiday traffic to reach her nesting site on the other side.  Yet, if Wieber Nourse and her helpers didn’t get her across the highway safely, then the snapper would just wait a few minutes and begin to weave and zigzag her way through the traffic once more … with a totally predictable outcome.

Snapper’s Trip Was NOT Uneventful

So, they employed the Lewis Maneuver by nudging the snapping turtle head-first into a bucket, large enough for her to fit comfortably, but NOT large enough for her to turn around.  Once securely in the bucket with head down and prehistoric tail snapping back and forth, the snapper was quickly raced across the highway while helpers frantically waved down the traffic.  When the snapper emerged from the bucket on the steep slippery slope on the other side of Route 6, she tumbled and rolled, briefly exposing her plastron before quickly recovering and continuing her trek to her nesting site.

“Let Me Shake Your Hand … Off”

You may not be able to predict the stock market or the outcome of March Madness, but you can easily predict the attitude of a snapping turtle whom you have just rescued from sure death.  They smile whimsically in your direction and imply, “Thank you for that special moment.  Let me shake your hand … off.”

As late May temperatures soar into the 80s, you can set your calendar to turtle nesting season when painted turtles scramble out of wetlands, ponds and rivers to deposit their crop of eggs representing the next generation of shelled reptiles.  We spotted the first nesting females on Monday afternoon and by Wednesday, nesting had shifted into high gear.  Adventurer and author Dick Wheeler of Wareham spotted a painted turtle nesting in the Wareham Community Gardens off Tihonet Road on Monday evening and immediately reported his sighting to Don Lewis, the Turtle Guy, to see if steps could be taken to protect these babies-in-waiting.

Two Turtle Nests Protected on Path to Gardens

Painted Turtle Sowing Crop of Eggs in Wareham Gardens

Wieber Nourse and Wheeler witnessed a fairly rare sight.  Watching quietly and carefully from a distance so as not to disturb the nervous turtle, they observed the entire nesting process.  The turtle carefully excavated the egg chamber, patiently deposited six elongated eggs one at a time, then painstakingly covered the nest and disguised its location.  Because this turtle had laid its clutch in the busiest portion of the community gardens, Wieber Nourse decided to relocate the eggs under the same protective predator excluder as the original nest to give them the best chance of survival.

Painted Turtle Egg Sowed in Wareham Community Gardens

Wieber Nourse gently and individually excavated each egg from the tight packed soil.  She dug a new nest and carefully placed the eggs in similar fashion as the mother turtle had done.  She packed down the soil and re-installed the nest protector now covering both clutches of painted turtle eggs.

Turtle “Crop” Overlooks Human Gardens

 

Handsome Male Diamondback Terrapin 

Turtle Journal returned to a very active mating aggregation in Wellfleet Bay on Outer Cape Cod last Friday.  The objective of our sampling expedition was to examine male diamondback terrapins.  While mature female terrapins will be coming on to shore next month to nest, male terrapins never leave the water.  They’re much more elusive and once dispersed after the spring mating aggregation, they are difficult to track and to capture.  So, this Friday we eschewed large females and focused on the smaller males.

Typical Male Diamondback Terrapin Tail

Terrapins exhibit sexual dimorphism.  A polysyllabic word that simply means that they differ in size between genders.  In the case of diamondback terrapins, females are twice as long and wide, and four times as massive as males.  The key distinguishing feature between males and females is the tail.  Females have small thin tails and males, as demonstrated by the specimen pictured above, have long thick tails.

Where the Boys Are: Heading Back to Mating Aggregation

Who said that turtles have no personality?  Whoever they may be, it’s clear they haven’t spent much time with diamondbacks.  Here’s a small array of personalities that we found during our brief sampling adventure.

Shy

Bold

Upset 

Surprised 

Unfazed

Sue Wieber Nourse Juggles Two Females and a Male Terrapin

Turtle Journal visited the principal mating aggregation on Outer Cape Cod Saturday to assess how far along diamondback terrapins have come from winter brumation.  We met up with Barbara Brennessel as we waded into the South Wellfleet cove in search of turtles.

Male Diamondback Terrapin in Shallows of Mating Aggregaton

The water quality at this time of the year is crystal clear without time for algae formation to cloud visibility.  As adult terrapins enter into mating aggregations on the Outer Cape, they pair up at high tide in the dense salt marsh vegetation ringing the shoreline.  Above, you can clearly identify this male terrapin from its large tail as he patrolled the shallows for a mate.

Sue Wieber Nourse and Barbara Brennessel with Turtles

We found turtles at both ends of the age spectrum.  Sue Wieber Nourse holds an ancient female terrapin that measures as one of the largest (and oldest) turtles on the Outer Cape.  Barbara Brennessel shows off an exquisitely beautiful young four-year-old juvenile female which was found hiding in the dense vegetation at the edge of the cove.

Four-Year-Old Juvenile Female Diamondback Terrapin

This posting wouldn’t be complete without a close-up photograph of this beautiful young turtle.

Sampled Terrapins Released Back into Mating Aggregation 

We sampled thirteen turtles from the cove.  Eleven were adults and two were juveniles.  Ten were female and three were male.  Six were recaptures and seven were first-time captures.  All of the females for whom we had nesting records came from the sandy shores of Great Island.

 The Adorable Terrapin Couple (Male Left, Female Right)

Temperatures were cool on Saturday, April 24th, hovering in the mid-50s with a sharp breeze blowing off the Atlantic Ocean.  Still, the sun was shining and with a nothing-ventured, nothing-gained attitude, Turtle Journal waded into Fresh Brook Run south of Lieutenant Island in South Wellfleet in search of emerging terrapins.  We arrived 90 minutes before low tide and zigzaged through the submerged tidal flats before we spotted our first turtle head snorkeling for air.  Don netted a mature male terrapin snoozing on the bottom and camouflaged in a mound of seaweed.  Sue chased down a mature female about a 100 feet away as she swam for safety into deeper, more turbid water.  Together, they make an adorable couple that perfectly illustrates the gender dimorphism of the species with females twice the linear size of males and nearly four times the mass.

12-Year-Old Female Diamondback Terrapin #9055

This gorgeous 12-year-old female, smiling for the camera, had never been captured before.  She received the new identification number 9055, so that Turtle Journal can follow her exploits through the years.  She measured 18.05 centimeters straight-line carapace length and 16.4 cm plastron length with a mass of 1087 grams.  She had mating scars on her 5th (rear) vertebral and also sported a split nuchal scute.

8-Year-Old Male Diamondback Terrapin #9056

The handsome 8-year-old male had also never been seen before.  He received the number 9056.  He measured 11.4 centimeters straight-line carapace length and 9.6 cm plastron length with a mass of 245 grams.  This fellow had raised rear marginal and sported a broad, striped tail.

Release of the Adorable Couple into Wellfleet Bay

In the afternoon chill, neither turtle moved too swiftly on release.  Eventually, after more than five minutes, the female began to trudge into the surf toward Wellfleet Bay.  The male, who Don had found snoozing on the bottom, refused to budge and waited for the tide to come to him!