Snapper

Yesterday my mail carrier told me there was a large Snapping Turtle just down the road. I hurried down there only to find it had disappeared.
Later in the day, I had some errands to run, tucked the camera in the car, and headed off. As I was driving in the same area as the turtle was sighted in, I looked around....sure enough..he was back, sitting on the shoulder of the road!

This one was fairly good sized, with the length of his shell measuring over one foot long. Lucky for me, this guy/gal decided to sit still and pose so that I was able to get some decent shots from all sides and angles.

Nice catch, Toni. I like the way his shell curves through the image. I saw a pair of these below the beaver dam along the Towpath Trail over the weekend. They were either having a territorial dispute or an amorous encounter. It's hard to tell with turtles.

Thanks for the info, Cindy! This Turtle had already crossed the road one time yesterday (yep, with people directing/stopping traffic so she/he could safely cross!), then apparently came back and wanted to go across again! Another person came by while I was there, picked up the turtle and felt underneath to see if she had any eggs inside, but he couldn't feel anything. There is a pond on both sides of the road, so presumably if it was a female, she had already laid some eggs somewhere?

Nice view. Seems to be fairly mild mannered. Will have to see if I can catch an image of one this Spring.

I would definitely keep all my limbs at very safe distance from this guy