Return of the Snapper!

Snapping Turtle (back) at the Wetland, October 16, 2021

The rain has continued much of the past week -- five of the eight days between my visit on Friday 10/8 and my next visit on Saturday 10/16 for a total rainfall in the Homer area of 1.86 inches (according to my Dark Sky app). The water level on the 8th was already impressive for this time of the year, so needless to say, doubly impressive when I visited yesterday. Perhaps the most elegant testimony to this fact was the return of the snapper. If you've followed this blog you may recall that I first saw the snapping turtle on the lawn near the wetland on July 31, then in the wetland on August 4th and again on August 14th. That was the last I saw of her* up until yesterday.

Meanwhile, the wetland has been completely dry. Twice. So imagine my astonishment and wonder when I arrived at the wetland yesterday and one of the first things I saw was her large shell protruding from the water near the shore.  The air temperature was 50 degrees and the water temperature 54, early enough in the morning that the wetland was still in the shade. This meant that being ectothermic -- dependent on external sources for heat rather than generating her own -- she was pretty lethargic. Without the need to handle her I was able to measure her shell more accurately (11" in length) as well as get some decent underwater photos. As you can see in the photo below, snapping turtles actually have quite pretty eyes!

So here's the big question: where has this turtle been for the past two months? She's not a small turtle and the water level was dropping from mid-August through late September when it was completely gone, yet I hadn't seen her after August 14. Did she go to the lake and come back? If so, why did she return? Or was she somewhere nearby out of the water? Or under the mud? It's a mystery.

As for the water levels, I am wondering if perhaps the days the wetland has been dry already this fall will be the only days this year. With fall and winter temperatures ahead and water a foot deep in the deepest areas of the wetland, it seems possible it will not dry up again until next fall. 

Despite having a face "only a mother could love," snapping turtles have surprisingly pretty eyes.

* My assumption has been that "she" is a female turtle who originated over at the lake and discovered the wetland while out looking for a place to lay her eggs. "She" could be a "he" but I at least am not aware of a good reason a he would have been out on the lawn by the wetland parking lot where I originally spotted her.

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