The low water in the Wetlands is making it more difficult for the resident turtles to make their way around their old stomping grounds. It also makes it easier to see where they’ve been and where they were going by those who observe such things.
A medium sized slider trudged along the muddy bottom and around a stump in the Wetlands. The turtle came upon a deeper track left by a much larger snapping turtle (running left and right just beyond the stump) and apparently took advantage of the deeper water in the track to swim the rest of the way to its destination.
3 responses to Turtle Tracks
Wendy says:
Why are they called “sliders”?
Greg Dodge says:
Author
Good question.
Two very different objects or entities come to mind when I hear the name sldier.
One, the White Castle burgers that I can remember purchasing by the bagful whenever in Northern New Jersey, many years ago. The little square burgers with the holes in them would easily slide down your throat making for easy driving while cruising down the highway.
Two, the turtles in the genus Trachemys, those mostly brown or greenish turtles with yellow or red markings that like to come out of the water and bask on logs, rocks, or small, secure islands and who tend to slide back into the water with a plop at the first sign of danger. Some might be tempted to say that the turtles look like the other sliders (burgers) with the bottom shell (plastron) flat and the top shell (carapace) rounded like that of a burger bun and the living turtle within the “meat,” but I don’t put much stock into that explanation for the slider handle.
Thanks,
sherry says:
How cool. I never think of looking for turtle body tracks in the water.
Why are they called “sliders”?
Good question.
Two very different objects or entities come to mind when I hear the name sldier.
One, the White Castle burgers that I can remember purchasing by the bagful whenever in Northern New Jersey, many years ago. The little square burgers with the holes in them would easily slide down your throat making for easy driving while cruising down the highway.
Two, the turtles in the genus Trachemys, those mostly brown or greenish turtles with yellow or red markings that like to come out of the water and bask on logs, rocks, or small, secure islands and who tend to slide back into the water with a plop at the first sign of danger. Some might be tempted to say that the turtles look like the other sliders (burgers) with the bottom shell (plastron) flat and the top shell (carapace) rounded like that of a burger bun and the living turtle within the “meat,” but I don’t put much stock into that explanation for the slider handle.
Thanks,
How cool. I never think of looking for turtle body tracks in the water.