SNAPPERS are found fairly often, most often in random
situations. While fishing at an area pond, lake or river, coming
across this reptile would be expected. If, however, you were
several miles from the nearest creek or body of water, you might
ask "what in the world is this turtle doing so far from water?"
Today's photo of the common snapper was just such an incident,
far from water, along a gravel road, where the adjacent habitat
was corn and bean fields. This scribe's theory is the turtle got
to this location on its own and I'm sure it can navigate back to
wherever it came from on its own. I made several photographic
images and went on my way. I'm sure the turtle did the same.
They are highly aquatic. They like warm, shallow, wet areas and
water, and they like to hide in bottom muds with only their eyes
and nostrils exposed. Snappers eat invertebrates, carrion,
aquatic plants, fish, birds and small mammals. They are
excellent swimmers. Research tests have shown that a snapper
displaced over two miles from