Turtles of the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain

Over the course of the fieldwork for this grant, we have (so far) rescued four turtles from the road.  Amazingly, they all seemed to be different species.  Here is a photograph of me rescuing a snapping turtle, which was easily the most ferocious of all the turtles that we encountered.  Since they are often aggressive and have long necks that can reach ~3/4 of the way across their backs, the only safe way to move a snapping turtle is to pick it up by its tail.  Their tails are very tough and leathery, so there is little risk of hurting the turtle that way.  It's just very important to keep the turtle a sufficient distance from your body when transporting it!

- Brendan