BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 13, 2024
I don’t hunt turtles, although it is legal in Maine to harvest up to two snapping turtles and their eggs for personal consumption. I am looking for them these days, much like I watch for deer that could leap out from the sides of the roads — defensively. Snapping turtles are emerging from every muddy swamp, pond or river in Maine right now, seeking sandy or gravelly soil to dig nests and lay eggs. I’ve never seen so many of them in such a short period of time. Not a lot of the young turtles that hatch in early fall survive predation from animals such as foxes, minks, raccoons and skunks, but some do. The species Chelydra serpentina has changed little in more than 40 million years, and it’s still thriving.