Appreciating common snapping turtles
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Two kinds of snapping turtles occur in North America, and both of them can be found in Illinois. Alligator snappers, which most people will never see, are listed as endangered, and they inhabit only larger rivers and streams in the southern part of the state, the Mississippi, Ohio and Wabash Rivers, and tributaries directly connected to them. In fact, no wild alligator snapping turtle was documented in Illinois for the thirty years between 1984 and 2014, when scientists from the Illinois Natural History Survey discovered one.
(Ironically, as I reported in a commentary last year, they discovered a wild alligator snapper as they sought to relocate individuals they had translocated from other states as part of a multi-year program to reestablish alligator snapping turtles in Illinois. More on that project here in future.)
It’s only common snapping turtles, scientific name Chelydra serpentina, that residents of
Illinois are likely to see, and it’s them I’d like to call attention to here.
Common snappers can be found throughout the state, and their overall range includes
the entire eastern two-thirds of the U.S. and corresponding parts of southern
Canada.
The “common” part of Chelydra serpentina’s name is entirely
appropriate. They can be numerous in suitable habitat, and suitable habitat for
them includes lakes, ponds, and marshes, as well as rivers and smaller
streams—just about any permanent body of water. And while we’re on the topic of
names, “serpentina” fits well, too, given the common snapping turtle’s long,
snake-like neck and it’s ability to strike in a flash.
[Photos of common snapping turtles by author.]
Humans who wade or swim in waters where snapping turtles
live have little reason to fear being bitten by them, because they strongly
prefer to avoid us and they move with ease in water.
What do common snapping turtles really want to bite? Fish,
of course. Or frogs, or snakes, or crayfish, or snails, or small mammals and
waterfowl—really, they’re not picky, and they eat carrion as well as prey they
dispatch themselves. Snapping turtles even include a fair amount of plant
material in their diet.
On land, snapping turtles respond to humans and other
threats more aggressively, since they possess neither speed to escape nor the
ability to retreat fully into their shell. But their strength to bite through
objects people provoke them with is greater in stories than in reality.
You’re most likely to see snapping turtles on land in June,
when females leave the water to find a site with loose soil or sand in which to
lay eggs, up to 30 of them. Digging a hole and covering their eggs with soil is
the extent of care female snappers provide, so few nests escape predation, and
even hatchlings from successful nests face long odds of surviving.
When I see other kinds of turtles on a road I stop to pick
them up and move them across in the direction they are headed, but it’s not a
good idea to do that with large snappers. Better to give them space and just
direct oncoming traffic around them, as long as it’s safe to do so.
Given the right vantage point, it’s also possible during
summer to observe snapping turtles as they bask, usually by floating near the
surface of the water with just their snout sticking out. In Champaign we’ve got
a perfect spot for that, the overlook on the east side of the Second Street
Basin. There are no guarantees in wildlife watching, but if you approach the
railing there slowly and quietly on a sunny afternoon, you’ve got a good chance
of spotting a basking snapper for yourself.
