Tiny Little Turtle

Back in May, we enjoyed a close encounter with Mama Snapping Turtle, en route to dig her nest and lay her eggs. She was just the vanguard of the snapping turtle expeditionary forces seeking soft places to dig their nests.

The fruits of those labours -- so to speak -- showed up at the Wiener Roast on Tuesday. No, calm down... we weren't serving up Turtle Soup!!! Far from it!

The Martin/Suits Collective found a tiny baby snapping turtle working his way across the hill above the cookout beach. Glad to be saved the long walk, he hitch-hiked down with the family, and was much admired by all at the beach.

After we'd all made our introductions to young Wilberforce the Snapping Turtle, explaining about how old and unchanged these turtles are (they date back to the dinosaurs, but are FAR more fun than a T-Rex), how cars are one of their greatest 'predators', and how their sex is determined by the temperature in the nest. Given it's been a cool start to the summer, we're guessing he's a young male turtle.

The mortality rate is huge for these little guys. Up to 40 eggs are laid by the female, who then just goes away and does whatever adult turtles do. About 100 days later, the tiny turtles chip their way out of the egg, using a little knob on their beaks, and try to figure out the shortest path to water. On the way, they need to dodge lots of other animals that would like to add turtle soup to their own menu: crows, hawks, herons, bullfrogs, large fish and snakes.

We released Wilberforce into the security of the stand of bullrushes and cattails at the water's edge, giving him the best shot we could, and wishing him lots of luck.

Turtle Fact: When the turtle catches a cold it floats at an angle and cannot dive!

Why? In the turtle, because the ribs are fused to the carapace, the lungs cannot be expanded by rib muscles. Instead, turtles have special paired lung muscles, attached to a "diaphragm", which force the air out of the lungs when they contract. In the relaxed state, the lungs of turtles - in contrast to other animals - are maximally filled with air. Turtles can shift air from one lung to another, thereby displacing their centre of gravity at will, so that the lungs act like the swim bladder of a fish. When the lung is diseased, this ability is impaired.