It’s springtime again, and while we often think about the birds and the bees this time of year, lets instead turn our attention to the turtles! Delaware is home to 15 species of terrestrial and freshwater turtles, and the woods and wetlands that Delaware Wild Lands owns and manages across the state provide vital habitat for them.
The Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina) is Delaware’s largest freshwater turtle, and mature turtles are typically 10-35lbs, although they can reach sizes of more than 75lbs! Last week, these turtles climbed the muddy banks of the Hangman’s Impoundment behind our office at Taylors Bridge to lay their eggs.
Each female will lay 20-40 eggs and then bury them with their hind feet, that doesn’t mean all those eggs will make it though. Raccoons and foxes are skilled at sniffing out Snapping turtle nests, and know that inside there is hearty meal waiting for them. In fact, only about 5% of eggs laid by a Snapping turtle will escape predation to hatch out, and less that 1% of those eggs will produce young that survive the 10-15 years needed to reach maturity and start the cycle over. For species like these, survival is a numbers game, at at Delaware Wild Lands, every acre of habitat we protect means a chance for more eggs and more turtles!