More Mating Snapping Turtles?

In June of 2022 I showed pictures of what appeared to be Common Snapping Turtles mating at Duke Farms. This past April I think I saw the same thing, this time at Great Swamp. At least it looked like a couple snapping turtles sloshing around together, usually with 1 or the other partially breaking the surface but with a lot of activity going on beneath the surface. While I can't completely rule out that this was some turtle fight, it seemed to go on for a while with neither turtle injured or trying to escape. Still, it's not always easy to understand the behavior of our animal friends, especially when water is obscuring part of the activity.

April 13, 2023 at Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge
Photo 272119765, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

April 13, 2023 at Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge
Photo 272119838, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

 

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