Snap to it!

 The Florida Everglades is one of if not the most well-known national park in America. The dry season of the Everglades lasts from December to April and the wet season lasts from May to November, meaning the time of our trip places us in the middle of the wet season. The vast wetlands are home to countless species of birds, fishes, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals. When discussing the animals of the wetlands however the most well-known types are the reptiles and while the alligators get the majority of the attention, turtles are established members of the ecosystem as well. When we had visited the Everglades we observed a couple individual turtles, but one individual stood out from the rest.

Pictured above is a photo of what I believe to be a Florida Snapping Turtle, also known as the common snapping turtle. The common snapping turtle is one of the largest freshwater turtles in North America and is found across the country. Chelydra serpentina can grow up to 18 to 20 inches, with the males typically growing slightly bigger. Individuals typically live from thirty to forty years and weigh up to 16kg, larger than most turtles. The reproductive season of the turtle lasts from April to November, with their peak laying season being in June and July. The female will lay anywhere from 25 to 80 eggs into a hole previously dug out, an incubation period of 9 to 18 weeks will begin. After this incubation period, the hatched turtles are independent and have to survive on their own.

When the juvenile turtles hatch, most of their lives from that point on will be spent in the water. Like what is seen in the first picture, snapping turtles are ambush predators that spend a large portion of time on the bottom of their respective body of water. Snapping turtles usually only surface to breathe and are rarely seen basking. These turtles are omnivores, and their diet consists of anything from plants, birds, fish, reptiles, mammals, frogs, and invertebrates. Despite degrading habitats and encroaching human interaction, common snapping turtles are marked as species of least concern by the IUCN redlist and have a stable population.