Boxy Lady

[Marko]

seriously wonderful sharpness here!

[Wicked Dark]

thanks Marko. that old 90mm is a corker of a lens.

[Mad Aussie]

Very cool finding something rare in the wild. Nice work.

[Wicked Dark]

I think it would have meant more at the time had I known. As it is I'm pretty jazzed although she's in a known population area. Maybe I'll see a real box turtle someday.

[Bambi]

I think it would have meant more at the time had I known. As it is I'm pretty jazzed although she's in a known population area. Maybe I'll see a real box turtle someday.

only if you work on your ninja skills- you know how fast those are!! :P

[asnow]

Wow that turtle has a very large shell. Is that why it is a so rare?
I've attached a picture of a turtle I took last summer. Is my turtle much more common and what kind is it.

[Wicked Dark]

that my friend, is a snapping turtle. stinky, ornery and they will bite anything you get near their mouths. much more common than a Blandings. I see at least 1 a year if not more. the babies hatch at the end of summer and we had a whole bunch in the neighborhood. I had to ferry them to safety to keep them from being run over. here's one of them -

[Wicked Dark]

Oh and I don't really know why they're so rare other than the usual - us. Polluting water, destroying habitat, running them over with cars, introducing newer fiercer predators etc.

and her shell isn't really that big, it's only her nose poking out, not her whole head. they have biggish heads and long necks.

[asnow]

Thanks for the identification. I guess it was a good job I didn't try and get too close to him. Mind you, I think I may have been maybe 5 or 6 feet away at the closest. I suspect he can move fast if he wants to. When I took his picture he was probably moving only at maybe 10 feet per minute.