May 31, 2009 - Turtle Trek

Welcome to the Nature Notebook.

There must be a good reason for an aquatic turtle to leave the safety of its watery home and set out on a journey across the land. Female snapping turtles do so this time of year to find a nesting site. They prefer a location with sand or gravel soil which allows for easy digging. The female snapper often travels away from water under the cover of darkness and excavates a hole with her hind feet. After laying up to eighty leathery, ping pong-sized eggs, she covers them with soil and rests for a time. Then she begins her trek back to the water leaving the eggs to incubate in the heat of the soil and sun. Depending on the weather the eggs can hatch in as little as nine weeks or take twice that long.

This is PPL's naturalist, Jon Beam, with the Nature Notebook for WVIA.