EGG LAYING SNAPPING TURTLE--

I encountered this snapping turtle just after dark June 8th while she was laying her eggs on the face of my pond's dam. Please look at the blog of May 3, 2008 for some information on reproduction by these turtles. That story also contains links for additional reference material.

For you photo enthusiasts I did the picture with my Canon Rebel XTi, Digital SLR and a Canon EFS 17-85mm, image stabilized lens. Light was provided by a 3 D-cell Mag-Lite flashlight. The turtle's head is lower right and its carapace (upper left) fades into darkness. The granular looking green material on the head and shell is watermeal; a pond surface weed that clung to her as she climbed out of the water.

She quietly went about her task while I busied myself with the photography--with my apologies to her, of course.