Eastern Painted Turtle Goes Swimming

Most of the time I get pictures of turtles who are out basking in the sun, but with a few exceptions (I'm looking at you, Box Turtles) most of our turtles are more comfortable in the water. This is presumably a safety issue, since they're both more mobile in water and can hide from terrestrial (like these guys) and aerial (I'm looking at you, Bald Eagles) threats better. I suppose River Otters are still a threat, though we don't have big populations of them around here. (Given their potential predators, having a shell/carapace is probably a good idea.)

Anyway, I got a pretty good look at this Eastern Painted Turtle, mostly submerged but with its head out of the water. The water here wasn't crystal clear, but wasn't inundated with green muck either.

September 1, 2022 at Duke Island Park
Photo 238907517, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


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