Although fairly common, populations of the Eastern Box Turtle (Terrepene carolina) are declining due to habitat loss and fragmentation. Many are crushed by vehicles on roads or by agricultural equipment or lawn mowers. This terrestrial turtle prefers the moist deciduous forest of the eastern United States, and can be found throughout the eastern US.
Now that the weather has turned warmer, and there's been some rain, turtles have emerged from their winter torpor and are commonly seen on roads around here. The turtles have a strong preference for their home territory, which is quite small -- about an acre. If a turtle is relocated, it will go to extreme lengths to return home. So if you see a turtle on the road, please just move it to the side and do not move it very far!
The hinged underside ("plastron") allows the head, tail, and limbs to completely withdraw into the shell for protection.
Males have a slightly concave plastron, while females have flatter ones. Males also usually have bright red eyes, while females tend to have brown or yellow eyes.
I've been documenting turtles on our property for a number of years. Each turtle has unique markings on their shell ("carapace"), so it's possible to document individual turtles. So far I've documented 33 turtles. There are certainly many more I haven't seen.
Young turtles are rarely seen. They spend their first few years under leaf litter on the forest floor. Two years ago I was lucky to see this tiny turtle. It's still too young to have distinctive marks, so I'll never know if I see this same turtle again.
Now that the weather has turned warmer, and there's been some rain, turtles have emerged from their winter torpor and are commonly seen on roads around here. The turtles have a strong preference for their home territory, which is quite small -- about an acre. If a turtle is relocated, it will go to extreme lengths to return home. So if you see a turtle on the road, please just move it to the side and do not move it very far!
The hinged underside ("plastron") allows the head, tail, and limbs to completely withdraw into the shell for protection.
Males have a slightly concave plastron, while females have flatter ones. Males also usually have bright red eyes, while females tend to have brown or yellow eyes.
I've been documenting turtles on our property for a number of years. Each turtle has unique markings on their shell ("carapace"), so it's possible to document individual turtles. So far I've documented 33 turtles. There are certainly many more I haven't seen.
Young turtles are rarely seen. They spend their first few years under leaf litter on the forest floor. Two years ago I was lucky to see this tiny turtle. It's still too young to have distinctive marks, so I'll never know if I see this same turtle again.
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