Snapping Turtle

Annie and I found this snapping turtle laying her eggs beside the river. I don't know if we disturbed her, or if she did not bury her eggs deeply enough, but I found the broken shells, the next day...

Snapping Turtle

Annie spotted this fellow first. He was only the size of the palm of my hand.

Even baby snapping turtles are ugly, but I have to admire the pattern on his shell.

Snapping Turtle

A female was laying eggs on a rocky mound that is part of our Sunday morning walk.

I wrapped the leashes around a large rock to keep the dogs away from her.

Even though she was less than a foot long, she could have done serious damage to toes or noses that got too close.

I have seen grown men who have lost a finger to a snapper that was supposedly dead.