{"id":10799,"date":"2012-05-14T07:23:50","date_gmt":"2012-05-14T12:23:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/?p=10799"},"modified":"2012-05-14T07:23:50","modified_gmt":"2012-05-14T12:23:50","slug":"snapping-turtle-takes-up-golf-in-wareham","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/?p=10799","title":{"rendered":"Snapping Turtle Takes Up Golf in Wareham"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Juvenile Snapping Turtle Surveys Wareham Golf Course<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Yes; when you research turtles from ocean depths to mountain tops, you\u00c2\u00a0get used to surprises.\u00c2\u00a0 Still, some surprises are bigger than others.\u00c2\u00a0 On Thursday morning, in light clouds and showers, Turtle Journal drove by the Little Harbor Golf Course in Wareham.<\/p>\n

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Juvenile Snapper Strolls Down Fairway<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

We\u00c2\u00a0spotted a juvenile snapping turtle stomping down the fairway\u00c2\u00a0in\u00c2\u00a0focused determination as though searching for his drive off the tee.\u00c2\u00a0 As luck would have it, rain had chased away two- legged golfers; so, there was no\u00c2\u00a0argument about who might have right of way.\u00c2\u00a0 In any case, we suspect no one would dispute this lad’s intention to “play through.”<\/p>\n

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Two Snappers Yell “Fore!”<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Don Lewis interrupted the young golfer for a bief interview about his playing skills.\u00c2\u00a0 Don especially wanted hints on the snapper’s technique on the greens.\u00c2\u00a0 They both decided to have a little fun by yelling “fore” on a deserted golf course.<\/p>\n

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Juvenile Snapper Close Up<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Notice how Don shows total respect for this juvenile snapper’s powerful neck and jaws.\u00c2\u00a0 He holds the turtle, which weighs about five pounds, from the very back of his carapace.\u00c2\u00a0 You might also notice the powerful legs and thick, sharp claws.\u00c2\u00a0 Even from the protective grasp at the rear of the snapper, there’s no relief from those powerful limbs.\u00c2\u00a0 As a researcher, you simply accept the pain … because it feels so good when it stops.<\/p>\n

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Juvenile Snapper Takes Up Golf at Little Harbor Course<\/strong><\/em>\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

After our discussion about the finer points of reptile golf and the travails of living a turtle’s life on a country club, the snapper chose to continue his round … before showers ended and humans once again laid claim to the fairway.<\/p>\n

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“Let’s Talk Handicap … Yours, Not Mine”<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

One interesting point of dispute\u00c2\u00a0arose when Don asked the snapper about his handicap.\u00c2\u00a0 For some reason this cold-blooded duffer deemed the\u00c2\u00a0topic a bit too\u00c2\u00a0sensitive and threatened to give Don the kind of handicap that would transcend golf.\u00c2\u00a0 Don tucked away this final lesson as another in a long list of reasons why he has never taken up the game.<\/p>\n

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Snapper Plays Through at Little Harbor Golf Course<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Speaking of warnings and a word to the wise, considering the direction of the snapper’s travel, we’d like to caution golfers, caddies and grounds keepers who may think that salvaging golf balls from water hazards might be\u00c2\u00a0a smart business proposition.\u00c2\u00a0 Lurking underneath the water may be a hazard that looks an awful lot like this\u00c2\u00a0juvie … only perhaps ten times larger.\u00c2\u00a0 How much is the bounty on a salvaged golf\u00c2\u00a0ball?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Juvenile Snapping Turtle Surveys Wareham Golf Course Yes; when you research turtles from ocean depths to mountain tops, you\u00c2\u00a0get used to surprises.\u00c2\u00a0 Still, some surprises are bigger than others.\u00c2\u00a0 On Thursday morning, in light clouds and showers, Turtle Journal drove by the Little Harbor Golf Course in Wareham. Juvenile Snapper Strolls Down Fairway We\u00c2\u00a0spotted a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[23],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10799"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10799"}],"version-history":[{"count":34,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10799\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10849,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10799\/revisions\/10849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}