South Dakota Birds and Birding

Snapping Turtle

One reason that I bring my camera with me so often...you never know what you might see, even if it's just driving to work in the morning, or taking a walk.  This warm spring morning I was at the Outdoor Campus in Sioux Falls, looking for migrating songbirds.  The star of the day wasn't the birds though, it was this monster of a Snapping Turtle which had lugged itself up on a log to sun itself.

It was almost comical to see this monster face-to-face with the much smaller (but full-grown!) Painted turtle.  The Painted Turtle pretty much kept its head and legs in its shell while I watched, and who could blame him?  I have NEVER seen a Snapping Turtle anywhere close to the size of this one, and I'd be willing to bet the old giant could have taken out the Painted Turtle in one snap if it felt so inclined. 

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