My friend found this guy in a dry area while out walking his bear. Can someone ID the species?
Turtle ID?
- Thread starter Tom
- Start date
Might be California's only native turtle - Actinemys marmorata.
Walking his BEAR?
It's best to leave turtles where you find them. They know what they're doing. Probably looking for a mate or a good spot to lay eggs.
Walking his BEAR?
It's best to leave turtles where you find them. They know what they're doing. Probably looking for a mate or a good spot to lay eggs.
Wikipedia says they sometimes live 200 days with no water since they live near seasonal ponds that dry up in summer.
He found a rattlesnake on the same walk.
Theres a bear in that photo....
Very cool pic of you and the bear. I always wanted to hug a bear and a whale. Pretty interesting info about the turtle too
Finding a tortoise is pretty neat, that goes without saying on the tortoise forum. Walking a BEAR and finding a rattlesnake. Now that's what I call an adventure walk.
Yvonne is correct. Definitely a pacific pond turtle. They con go long periods aestivating if their pond dries up. But this time of year is the absolute peak of egg laying season so most you see now will be females searching for nest sites. They will often travel quite long distances to nest
So you agree with Yvonne to put him right back where he found him?
Just watched "The Revenant", I can tell your right now I wouldn't hug a teddy bear after watching the bear scene. Cool pic!
Aw, darn it. I would just love to be able to hug a bear.
The one on the left, right? Be careful of him. He's ferocious!
Yes. Putting her anyplace else and she's liable to get run over trying to find her way back to her home territory.
Its out in the middle of nowhere. No roads for a few miles. Its probably a pretty good spot, but still surprising to find a native aquatic turtle in that spot with no water anywhere nearby.
Actually I've found box turtles in the same area I've released them several years in a row on my property , guess they didn't like their old home territory. I would rather move a turtle out to the country then put it off the side of the road at a busy intersection that it's just going to wonder back onto. I see turtles run over everyday and it pisses me off to no end. I know it happens on accident but several people do it on purpose too.
Last edited by a moderator:
Yes. Plus it's illegal to keep a native turtle in CA
And yes, I would put it back where it was. If found on a road I will put them on the side they are heading
At the country club I used to belong to I would always get calls this time of year that a member or staff found a turtle from our lakes wandering up towards the houses away from the lakes. They would ask if I wanted to check it or should they just put it back in the lake. I would always tell them to leave her alone and put her back where she was heading. It took her a lot of work to get up there and now she has to start all over again!
At the country club I used to belong to I would always get calls this time of year that a member or staff found a turtle from our lakes wandering up towards the houses away from the lakes. They would ask if I wanted to check it or should they just put it back in the lake. I would always tell them to leave her alone and put her back where she was heading. It took her a lot of work to get up there and now she has to start all over again!
We can agree to disagree on this one. I've seen way to many run over. My 16 year old tells me stories all the time about kids playing what they call turtle hockey. Try to just hit the edge of a turtle and shoot it off the road. I watched one get hit the other day before I could get turned around and eggs all over the road. If I see one in the middle of no where I will just move it off the side of the road but I live in one of the biggest cities in Oklahoma, and one of the most populated parts of it. I'm not just putting it off and waiting to see it return to th road and getting crushed.
A new neighborhood is being built down the street with one of the only green belts left in the area, I'm sure several turtles live in that area, their habit is basically being destroyed and I'm sure this is happening all over my area because of growth. So what would you do, just leave it and say it knows what it's doing or move it to a better place that you know won't have this happen?
