Tonka Times Magazine July 2010 : Page 11
is home to several species of turtles. The western painted turtle is the common “sun” turtle basking on logs and rocks in spring and summer, especially in backwater marshes. It has a colorful coral-colored bottom shell or plastron. The lake is also home to the larger spiny softshell turtle that is sometimes called a leather back or pancake turtle. It has a very long neck and snout. The females of this species can grow up to 18 inches in shell length. These are very fast turtles, very wary of anyone who approaches are quick to dive into the water. The common snapping turtle is a well-known resident of our ponds and lakes, often with a bad reputation. Snappers tend to be much more pugnacious when encountered on land than in the water because they have a very small bottom shell and cannot defend themselves as other turtles do by closing up tightly into their shells. True, they are known to eat the occasional duckling, but ducks and turtles have lived together in ponds over the ages. All turtles play an important role in our wetland ecology and deserve our protection. Being reptiles, turtles must come on to open, dry land at least once a year, usually in June, to lay eggs. The female turtle digs a nest chamber, deposits eggs, covers the nest and returns to its wetland. The eggs are incubated by the sun for 2-3 months, with the babies of most species emerging by late summer. The Painted Turtle, however, is unusual because its hatchlings emerge from the eggs but remain in the nest chamber over the winter. Their ability to supercool allows them to stay dormant 6-7 inches below the soil all winter. Young turtles leave their nests capable of surviving on their own, but many become food for wading birds, frogs, fish, and mammals such as raccoons and otters. However, we as homeowners, especially those of us who live adjacent to a wetland or lake, can make a difference to help save our local turtles. A sunny garden or flower bed works well to provide nesting habitat. Riprap, often used to prevent shoreline erosion, can be a death trap for hatchlings heading toward the water. Watch for them and help them across. Softshell turtles prefer to nest close to the water, either on sandy beaches or higher elevation grass, and can not lay eggs on rocks. Many turtles will choose warm sunny mornings in June to come ashore but will be scared off by busy boating traffic or people walking along the shore. Providing a quiet location for the turtles to nest is very beneficial. Western Painted Turtles PHOTO BY ARNIE FREDRICKSON July 2010 TonkaTimes.com 11
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