Snapping Turtle

Cheyldra serpentina, the Common Snapping Turtle, as found in the Mid-Atlantic region. I was able to politely cajole this critter until it became irritated enough to get out from the middle of the road. He/ she was heading for the high ground either due to heavy rains or egg laying.

Most people never see one of these, and when they do, they take a photo like this...


That's fine, but you really don't get the sense urgency that was present while standing in the middle of the road. Now ol' MZ is some kind of woodsman or something, and this is not his first encounter with a snapper, so naturally he's going to photograph this turtle the Marvel way...




See how dynamic and engaging the second turtle is compared to the first? Aren't you rooting for this turtle to get the fuck out of the way already? The thing was approximately 15inches longs and rather nimble once it got going. A yuppie yelled at me to pick it up and carry it off the road, however there is no safe way to handle one of these without cruelty, so I declined. It crawled into the brush and disappeared.