Snap To It!
Getting a firsthand look at the circle of life of these remarkable creatures
Ilove turtles and am especially fascinated with snapping turtles. Common snapping turtles are the largest fresh water turtles in Canada. The average female weighs around 50 pounds (22.6 kilograms) and can live to 100 years. Many people do not realize that snapping turtles are now categorized as of “Special Concern in Canada” with their numbers dwindling.
The female takes from 15 to 20 years to mature, and lays more eggs—40 to 50—than any other freshwater turtle in Canada. Once her eggs are laid, the nest is often raided by raccoons, skunks and other predators. Often, only a tiny fraction of the eggs laid actually hatch.
Our family is lucky as this matriarch (above) and others travel up to ten kilometres to get to their nesting spot every year, which happens to be the driveway of our cottage located on Eagle Lake, South River, Ont. These turtles love a mix of sand and gravel in which to deposit their precious load of eggs and our driveway certainly suits this purpose.
It is an awesome spectacle to watch as they dig and then labour to lay their ping pong ball-sized eggs. After their difficult deposit, they are tired and very slowly make their way back to the stream that leads to the lake. These mommas are then done—not the most motherly of critters! The eggs are now left up to nature.
We then cordon-off the area to help protect the nests. This takes place in late June or July, depending on the weather. The eggs incubate till September or October and then the “watch” begins to hopefully see the tiny hatchlings emerge. When they do, they instinctively head to the stream.
Snapping turtles mainly make their home in lakes, where their diet of dead plants and animals help to keep the lakes clean. The word “snapper” often puts people in fear of them. They are actually very shy creatures and I once read an article that claimed the only time a snapper would bite you while swimming is if you had a worm wrapped around your toe!
It is a pleasure to help protect nature, and so inspirational to have the opportunity to witness the amazing circle of life of these prehistoric-looking reptiles every year. ■