Caught my first one

[Sigarms]

As I've gotten older, I've gotten a lot softer. Generally pick up turtles and move them if they are in the middle of the road as long as it's safe given the road.

Always moving box turtles, but this guy had me perplexed because he was so small and color. Never really come across them, last one was last year when we moved one off the road (VERY carfeully) when we were out on a walk last year sometime.

 

[k0ua]

I don't care much for snapping turtles. I am good with all other turtle species, but not them things.

 

[MossRoad]

Looks like an itty bitty one.

How big was it?

 

[Sigarms]

I don't care much for snapping turtles. I am good with all other turtle species, but not them things.

Honestly James I don't care much for them either. That said, God put them on this earth for a reason is IMO

The irony is man is only superior today due to the tree of knowledge and our intelligence by disobeying God's word. The general reality is we aren't fond of animals that can hurt (or eat) us:laughing:

 

[Sigarms]

Looks like an itty bitty one.

How big was it?

If I were to guess, I'd say 3-4" (I could hold him with two fingers). Put him out back a little while ago because I was close to the house (further away from main roads). I figure as long as I try, I did my part.

 

[MossRoad]

My wife and I were out for a drive earlier this spring, came across two painted turtles crossing the road. So I stopped and moved them in the direction they were heading. As I was turning around, I looked to the side of the road where they were coming from and there were half a dozen more in the grass giving me the eyeball! :laughing: I moved them, too.

I got a couple snapping turtles moved off the road last fall, too. Just gotta be careful. Those necks are reallllyyyyyyy looooonnnnng. :laughing:

My brother in law works as a heavy equipment operator. Mostly on bridges and culverts over streams. He said in the spring, herds of turtles come through all day long climbing out of the waterways and the guys just pick them up and help them along their way. A couple weeks later, they all come back heading the other direction.

I have a nephew that did turtle research for his masters degree. He radio tagged snapping turtles in a city and then tracked their movement. Some stayed within yards of where he tagged them for two years. Others moved a mile or so up or down stream. But that's about as far as they went. Winter was easy tracking. They just stayed put in the mud for a few months! :laughing:

 

[4570Man]

I see little turtles around pretty often. My dog found a big turtle like 2’ across in the neighbors creek.

 

[MossRoad]

As a kid, I'd sit in the back of my jonboat and row by pushing so I could see where I was going. My buddy would hang over the front of the boat with a net and tell me which way to go as we chased turtles all over the lake behind our house. In mating season, you'd get 3, 4, even 5 males following a female and we'd scoop all of them up in one netfull just by sneaking up behind them as they swam along in a row. We alway let them go. It was just something fun to do.

We used to see some very large soft shell turtles. They were hard to catch. But the babies were easy in the sandy shallows. Nothing better for a kid to have than a small boat, a small lake or pond, and a good friend to hang out with.

 

[polo1665]

As a kid, I'd sit in the back of my jonboat and row by pushing so I could see where I was going. My buddy would hang over the front of the boat with a net and tell me which way to go as we chased turtles all over the lake behind our house. In mating season, you'd get 3, 4, even 5 males following a female and we'd scoop all of them up in one netfull just by sneaking up behind them as they swam along in a row. We alway let them go. It was just something fun to do.

We used to see some very large soft shell turtles. They were hard to catch. But the babies were easy in the sandy shallows. Nothing better for a kid to have than a small boat, a small lake or pond, and a good friend to hang out with.

We used to try to catch soft shell turtles where I grew up in Michigan. Man, those things are fast.

 

[jaxs]

Born and raised in the country,I learned to swim in remote streams where swim suits were optional. Thanks to snapping turtles,I learned to swim using only one hand.