CLOSE TO THE CREATURES WITH PAPA – ORNATE BOX TURTLE
This is the most beautiful box turtle that I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.
The Ornate Box Turtle (Terrapene ornata ornata) is a very interesting species. First of all, it is a terrestrial turtle, unlike so many other turtles that are aquatic. Also, it has a hinged shell that allows it to pull its head, tail, and legs into the shell and close it tight. This works well when a hungry raccoon or other predator comes along and tried to eat it.
It has a most interesting diet which includes all sorts of wild greens, berries, insects, and even dead animals. I once caught one eating a dead rabbit out in a field. They can live for almost 40 years, and their beauty makes them a candidate for the pet trade. Once, they were widely eaten by humans and in some areas, like Wisconsin, their numbers never fully recovered. It is still listed as an Endangered Species up in Wisconsin, and though we see them regularly here in Arkansas, I've never encountered one in the wild in Wisconsin.
Here are the photos from this shoot. I wet the turtle first to bring out the colors.
Just to liven things up a bit, here are a few original gifs.
As always, I'm @papa-pepper and here's the proof:
proof-of-ornate-box-turtle
Until next time…
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That is such a cool turtle. I've never seen one like that.
Thanks Papa!!
They are up there near you, South-Western part of the state, they are just hard to come by.
omg this brings me bad memories :( . a few months ago i fond a turtle in the middle of a transit road, at soon as I saw her I was commited to help her, I got her out the road, bring her home for like a day then i decided to drop her in a near by creek thats behind my cusin house ( the turtle was a ground turtle0) of curse i didnt throw her in the creek i just put her where a lot of vegetation was and animals, in the following days after the i drop her i went to my cusins house and i found out that he kill her by shooting at her at the shelt with a bb gun. ( he didnt know i drop her there ) .. poor turtle , it was all my fault :(
That is a bad memory. What a mean cousin.
That is some crazy perspective - I really thought the turtle was larger then when I saw the final pic WOW, its a little fella.
Beautiful color.
Wow! It looks like an artistic kid drew on him with a highlighter! Beautiful! I am surprised to see how small he is. Until the pic with you I thought he was bigger. They must grow their entire lives in order for one to be eating a dead rabbit! Thanks for the cool post and pictures of a critter I have never seen before! Hope that new baby is doing well, I prayed for you all and even guessed right that he was a boy! :)
Excellent post brother. What a magnificent creature. Do you know how big they get?
Not too much bigger than this guy. Maybe seven or eight inches long would be my guess.
Thanks for your prayers, and great job guessing correctly. Put that STEEM to good use!
Turtles are my favorite animals and ones like this are really cool!
nice...u deserve resteem and upvote...
Those turtle gifs are somehow addicting. I feel like they need to be turned into a meme or something... Anyone up for the challenge?
Give it a go if you want to! I'm glad that you enjoy them!
Loved your post. Upvoted and followed. Resteemed. The whole family enjoyed. Thanks.
Glad to hear it. Thank you too!
an awesome turtle
Yes it is! Thank you very much!
you're welcome. Enjoy your Thursday
Wow, he/she is gorgeous! I love the colouring on the shell. Those eyes though, they seem to be saying 'get that damn camera outta ma face'
Thanks for sharing, I am fascinated by reptiles of all sorts
I am fascinated by all reptiles too!
Even these guys!
The brown eyes are a giveaway that she's a female turtle. The males have red eyes. They are beautiful animals, for sure!