VILLAGE SOUP (Camden, Maine)

VILLAGE SOUP (Camden, Maine) 26 June 05 Don't mess with this mother: Watch out for snappers on the move (Holly S. Anderson)
Photos at URL: Camden Lt. Randy Gagne, right, and Officer Paul Spear, left, stood watch over the female snapping turtle found near the middle school playground when kindergarteners went outside for recess. Ken Bailey is pictured picking up the turtle to move it from the rock pile to a safer location to lay her eggs. (Photo by Holly S. Anderson)
Camden: When kindergarteners housed at Camden-Rockport Middle School were let out for recess Monday morning, they discovered a wayward mother snapping turtle near the playground.
Mid-June signals nesting time for female snapping turtles, like this one discovered by kindergarteners outside for recess at Camden-Rockport Middle School Monday morning. (Photo by Holly S. Anderson)
The turtle wasn't an invited guest on school grounds or brought to class as a science experiment or for show and tell.
The giant snapping turtle was looking for a place to lay her eggs and decided that a pile of rocks behind the school's play set was a good spot.
The humans at the site thought differently.
While Camden Lt. Randy Gagne and Officer Paul Spear kept watch over the turtle, with catch poles in hand in case she charged them, Inland Harbormaster Ken Bailey donned a pair of thick leather gloves and searched for a better location for the turtle to lay her eggs.
"I think she'll be happier near the stream out back," Bailey said.
Photo: Snapping turtles aren't aggressive unless cornered. When grabbed by the shell and lifted up, a turtle has the ability to lurch its head backward to the middle of its back to scare would-be predators and inland harbormasters. (Photo by Holly S. Anderson)
Snapping turtle shells can be eight to 18 inches wide. Snappers won't bother people unless provoked.
Since grabbing a turtle by its shell could be considered provocation, Bailey positioned himself behind the snapper and made a quick grab.
The snapper immediately threw back her head, which almost caused Bailey to let go. He held on, however, and inched his hands back a bit to make sure his hands and face were sufficiently clear of her strike.
After a quick walk back into the woods and down a steep embankment, Bailey set the mother snapper near the bank of the slow-moving water. She was last seen ambling upstream.
Bailey said that this time of year, snapping turtle sightings increase three-fold.
Confirming Bailey's words, VillageSoup's Lynda Clancy of Rockport reported a large snapping turtle making herself comfortable under a chair in Clancy's back yard Tuesday morning.
"There are turtles coming out of the water all over the place right now to lay their eggs," Bailey said. "The best thing to do is leave them alone and keep children and pets away."
Snapping turtles can go for up to two weeks without water, which enables them to make long, overland treks or swim in the ocean. Mid-June is the prime time for snapping turtles to nest. Females typically haul out of waterways in search of sandy, sunny nesting sites and often travel over roadways to ease their migration. This means drivers need to be cautious of turtles while driving this time of year.
Once a site is chosen, a female turtle digs a nest chamber, first with her front legs and then with her hind legs. After about 90 minutes the nest chamber is completed and the female lays 22 to 62 one-inch eggs. After laying the eggs the female fills the nest hole again with sand, presses the sand down, camouflages the nest somewhat and leaves. Some turtles are known to leave quickly while others hang out for nearly a week before moving on.
There is a high prevalence of predators raiding turtle nests -- up to 90 percent of them get raided -- within the first night of egg laying. Predators of the turtle eggs include raccoons, skunks, foxes and mink.
The eggs hatch after 90 to 120 days, which is usually in September in this area. The hatchlings dig out of the nest and somehow head straight for the nearest water, even if they cannot see it.
Ideally, turtles nest close to small streams, where hatchlings live for a couple of years before moving to larger bodies of water.
Anyone who finds a snapping turtle in a dangerous or high-traffic location in their neighborhood may contact Bailey through the Camden Police Department at 236-3030.
http://camden.villagesoup.com/Community/story.cfm?storyID=56847