I was out this morning, wandering up a creek [no comments ;) ], looking for a waterfall that I was told I'd find - no luck.
Along the way, I was slogging through the creek, along the cobbles, etc. I walked across a large, flat boulder, and then started back into the cobbles. My eye saw a dark, wet, green "cobble" and then started looking for the next rocks onto which I might be stepping. After I moved my eyes, my brain said "that's a snapping turtle!", at which point I sorta jumped! ;)
So, this one was pleasant enough to sit here for a bit and let me take some closeups. This is the first time that I've gotten close to a snapper in the wild in about thirty years. The last time, I was in biology field camp, drawing together the bottom of a seine that had snagged on a "stump," or so we thought. I still have all of my fingers!
Now, for a bonus natural history question, who can tell the group where you'll find the algae known as Basicladia growing? You're each allowed three guesses and the first two don't count... ;)
Tim!
Posted by Chuck Beatty on June 4, 2008 at 10:01 PM
Cool shot, Tim. Love the story. He doesn't look too happy about his photo op. As for the algae, I'm guessing it grows on the carapaces of large, grumpy turtles?
Nice shot!! Too bad about the waterfall, though. I, too, have caught them (usually smaller than this one) while fishing. Many years ago, a friend of mine and I were fishing in an abandoned coal mine (surface mine) near Canton, IL, when a lady and her husband were fishing out of a boat a few yards off shore from where we were. The lady hooked a "snapper" and hauled it into their boat with them where it immediately terrorized them both by running up and down on the bottom of their metal boat while still attached to the woman's fishing line. We had a great time laughing as the man and woman stood up on the seats of the boat while the man tried to get it out of the boat with an oar. He finally had the presence of mind to cut the fishing line and managed to get it out of the boat while he held the line and his wife used the oar to toss it back into the lake. Needless to say, they were done fishing.....don't know the fate of the "snapper" with a hook down inside its mouth.
Nice shot!! Too bad about the waterfall, though. I, too, have caught them (usually smaller than this one) while fishing. Many years ago, a friend of mine and I were fishing in an abandoned coal mine (surface mine) near Canton, IL, when a lady and her husband were fishing out of a boat a few yards off shore from where we were. The lady hooked a "snapper" and hauled it into their boat with them where it immediately terrorized them both by running up and down on the bottom of their metal boat while still attached to the woman's fishing line. We had a great time laughing as the man and woman stood up on the seats of the boat while the man tried to get it out of the boat with an oar. He finally had the presence of mind to cut the fishing line and managed to get it out of the boat while he held the line and his wife used the oar to toss it back into the lake. Needless to say, they were done fishing.....don't know the fate of the "snapper" with a hook down inside its mouth.
Discussion
7 repliesAlong the way, I was slogging through the creek, along the cobbles, etc. I walked across a large, flat boulder, and then started back into the cobbles. My eye saw a dark, wet, green "cobble" and then started looking for the next rocks onto which I might be stepping. After I moved my eyes, my brain said "that's a snapping turtle!", at which point I sorta jumped! ;)
So, this one was pleasant enough to sit here for a bit and let me take some closeups. This is the first time that I've gotten close to a snapper in the wild in about thirty years. The last time, I was in biology field camp, drawing together the bottom of a seine that had snagged on a "stump," or so we thought. I still have all of my fingers!
Now, for a bonus natural history question, who can tell the group where you'll find the algae known as Basicladia growing? You're each allowed three guesses and the first two don't count... ;)
Tim!