This is WAY late in the year for my first turtle rescue. I guess I just haven't been driving where the turtles were crossing. But this was a great one.
Let's play a guessing game. What kind of turtle is this? Well, it's a fast one. After I picked it up out of the middle of the road and took it to the side where it was headed, it moved off into the woods faster than you would think possible.
You might be able to ID it from that picture if you really know your turtles, but this should help. What do you see about the shell? It's got a fairly high dome, and it has little spots. The fact that it's pretty clean helps with that ability. So often they are muddy or covered in duckweed.
How about the underside? The plastron has this pattern.
How about a look at the head? Nope.
Well, maybe just a little bit. And now, you can see the definitive ID criteria. Just barely.
Did you see it? That bright yellow chin will tell you for sure it's a Blanding's Turtle, Emydoidea blandingii. They are at least "Of Special Concern" in Michigan. Wikipedia lists them as Endangered, but the MSU web page does not show them with that status. They can stretch that neck out very far so that they almost look like a dinosaur. This one did so once, but I couldn't move fast enough to get a picture.
The thing is, Mason County is a bit of a hot spot for them. I see them quite often, and I've seen big ones. I'm sure the first one I ever saw was a rival for the state record. And you can see that this one is not small. Maybe 9-inch shell front to back which is fairly large, so maybe it's a female.
The oldest one known is 90 years old, and still laying eggs.
The DNR says Michigan has 10 species of turtle. I've seen 6 (maybe 7) of them in the wild. Pretty cool!
We had some good rain today, but I managed to walk to the post office this afternoon- 2.5 miles. Worked pretty solidly on a number of projects.
Miles hiked in 2025: 356.8.
 | See First Turtle Rescue 2017 |
7 comments:
The oldest one known is 90 years old, and still laying eggs.
"Where shall I be at 90?" Alice giggled. "Not laying eggs, for sure."
90 years old and still laying eggs? WOW
What a wonderful rescue. The Blanding’s Turtle is such a beautiful and fascinating species, and it’s great that you were able to safely help it across the road. I love how you captured all the identifying details, the dome-shaped shell, the plastron pattern, and that bright yellow chin. It’s amazing to think some of these turtles can live for 90 years and continue laying eggs. Mason County really is lucky to have such a hot spot for them.
www.melodyjacob.com
Java Bean: "Ayyy, what a handsome fellow! I wonder if it knows our friend Sky Turtle ..."
Oona: "That turtle has got serious murder mittens. Oona approves."
Rainfield- Alice is a biologist!
Ann- turtles are amazing
Oona- she does have scary looking mitts, but she doesn't use them like that, so we are safe
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