Last month I did a little driving through the Apalachicola National Forest. Gulf coast box turtles are very common there and this is a routine sight...
But this guy was not routine. At some point (or maybe even two?) he had been in a fire...
A very unique animal! The big notch in the front of the carapace is from fighting with other males and just about every adult male I've found in the forest over the years has similar scars.
Rear view. After this photo I put him way off the road...even though the traffic here is practically nil.
I was back up in the ANF last week and the weather was gorgeous right after Tropical Storm Karen had blown by. But as a cold front had also moved through the region it was a bit on the cool and dry side for turtles to be out. I hiked for hours looking for turtles and found none. But then driving through an area filled with trees marked by red-cockaded woodpecker nesting holes, I spotted something very tiny, and yet unmistakeable just coming out of the roadside grass. Screeching to a halt I ran back to snap this photo...
Wow! A new hatchling, something you almost never see.
He had a particularly yellow plastron too...
As you can see, he still had the remnants of his egg tooth just under his nostrils...
Way off down a dirt trail I found a nice old cypress log to pose him on. For me finding this little one was the highlight of the week!
But this guy was not routine. At some point (or maybe even two?) he had been in a fire...
A very unique animal! The big notch in the front of the carapace is from fighting with other males and just about every adult male I've found in the forest over the years has similar scars.
Rear view. After this photo I put him way off the road...even though the traffic here is practically nil.
I was back up in the ANF last week and the weather was gorgeous right after Tropical Storm Karen had blown by. But as a cold front had also moved through the region it was a bit on the cool and dry side for turtles to be out. I hiked for hours looking for turtles and found none. But then driving through an area filled with trees marked by red-cockaded woodpecker nesting holes, I spotted something very tiny, and yet unmistakeable just coming out of the roadside grass. Screeching to a halt I ran back to snap this photo...
Wow! A new hatchling, something you almost never see.
He had a particularly yellow plastron too...
As you can see, he still had the remnants of his egg tooth just under his nostrils...
Way off down a dirt trail I found a nice old cypress log to pose him on. For me finding this little one was the highlight of the week!
