Just returned from one of my trips to north Florida to search for my favorite of all turtles the alligator snapper, Macrochelys temminckii. These awesome animals have interested me since I was little and for the past three decades I've made regular trips to look for them in the wild.
So this past Tuesday I was once again on 'my' river.
Here are typical scenes...
The river was murky after some recent heavy rains but a nearby creek still looked pristine...
After canoeing for only about 30 minutes I found this little guy while he was actually gaping and luring with his tongue which is something alligator snappers are famous for...
As you can see by his still attached yolksac membrane he is a new hatchling. Probably had been in the river for only a few days...
A little later on I found this...
The gray streaks are water beetles that were cruising around so fast they appear as blurs. But look a little closer...
And then closer...
How cool! I hadn't been on the river for even and hour and already two neonate Macrochelys!
This one had recently hatched too..
It began to rain again so I decided to call it a day but not before netting this sassy girl. An adult female loggerhead musk turtle, Sternotherus minor...
Loggerheads are another real favorite of mine.
The next day was clear and cool but the temperatures would rise into the 80's by midday. A one point on the river I came to a large treefall with many branches and debris. The limbs that protruded from the water were covered in basking Mobile cooters, Pseudemys concinna and yellow bellied turtles, Trachemys scripta. I wanted a photo but they all bolted into the water as I approached. So I beached my canoe, put on my diving mask and went into the river after one. Usually such turtles simply swim to the bottom and hide among the sunken branches and stuff. But as I searched the murky river bottom I couldn't find a single one of them. But then I found something else. Partially buried in the sand at the bottom and wedged in some sunken tree limbs was the unmistakeable chestnut brown carapace of an alligator snapper. After surfacing for air I went back down and made a grab for it. The snapper exploded into action and began clawing its way further back under the submerged tree. I could hear loud CLONK CLONK noises under water as the turtle snapped wildly. Finally I was able to pull the thing out and surface with her. Not a giant Macrochelys by any means but my largest so far...
What a turtle!
She had beautiful color too for an alligator snapper which are often just mud brown...
I spent just a couple of minutes photographing her and then released her back into the water. Man, what a day already!
But it wasn't over. A couple of hours later I found this...
Yep, another neonate!
What a great trip. Three neonate and one adult female alligator snapping turtles. Probably my best Macrochelys hunt ever...
Can't wait to go back!
So this past Tuesday I was once again on 'my' river.
Here are typical scenes...
The river was murky after some recent heavy rains but a nearby creek still looked pristine...
After canoeing for only about 30 minutes I found this little guy while he was actually gaping and luring with his tongue which is something alligator snappers are famous for...
As you can see by his still attached yolksac membrane he is a new hatchling. Probably had been in the river for only a few days...
A little later on I found this...
The gray streaks are water beetles that were cruising around so fast they appear as blurs. But look a little closer...
And then closer...
How cool! I hadn't been on the river for even and hour and already two neonate Macrochelys!
This one had recently hatched too..
It began to rain again so I decided to call it a day but not before netting this sassy girl. An adult female loggerhead musk turtle, Sternotherus minor...
Loggerheads are another real favorite of mine.
The next day was clear and cool but the temperatures would rise into the 80's by midday. A one point on the river I came to a large treefall with many branches and debris. The limbs that protruded from the water were covered in basking Mobile cooters, Pseudemys concinna and yellow bellied turtles, Trachemys scripta. I wanted a photo but they all bolted into the water as I approached. So I beached my canoe, put on my diving mask and went into the river after one. Usually such turtles simply swim to the bottom and hide among the sunken branches and stuff. But as I searched the murky river bottom I couldn't find a single one of them. But then I found something else. Partially buried in the sand at the bottom and wedged in some sunken tree limbs was the unmistakeable chestnut brown carapace of an alligator snapper. After surfacing for air I went back down and made a grab for it. The snapper exploded into action and began clawing its way further back under the submerged tree. I could hear loud CLONK CLONK noises under water as the turtle snapped wildly. Finally I was able to pull the thing out and surface with her. Not a giant Macrochelys by any means but my largest so far...
What a turtle!
She had beautiful color too for an alligator snapper which are often just mud brown...
I spent just a couple of minutes photographing her and then released her back into the water. Man, what a day already!
But it wasn't over. A couple of hours later I found this...
Yep, another neonate!
What a great trip. Three neonate and one adult female alligator snapping turtles. Probably my best Macrochelys hunt ever...
Can't wait to go back!