February Turtles
Since today is World Turtle Day , I'm contractually obligated to talk about turtles today. 😄🐢 Though back in April I showed you some Spiny Softshell Turtles from this year, they were not the 1st turtles I saw or photographed this year. I had actually started to see turtles basking in fairly early February, albeit only on unusually warm days. Among the first I saw were 2 of our most frequently seen basking turtles , a few Eastern Painted Turtles and a Northern Red-bellied Cooter . Though sea turtles can migrate, our turtles hibernate underwater, slowing their metabolism, and using cloacal respiration and anaerobic respiration . Anaerobic respiration sounds like what kicks in when, as the winter progresses, the water slowly becomes depleted of oxygen. While it can keep a turtle alive, it sounds like they'll experience the equivalent of muscle cramps with that form of respiration. I suspect this means that they're anxious to get out of the water to breathe as soon as the ...