We were delighted to discover this wild community of painted turtles while looking for snapping turtles in Cape May Court House, New Jersey. Keep watching this video for closeups of some of these painted turtles.
The smaller turtles are the males, and you may notice some of the males chasing the larger females! Also, you may notice the males have larger front claws/fingernails as well as larger tails than the females.
Something painted turtles and snapping turtles have in common is that they are more cold-tolerant than some other turtles and therefore some of the first kinds of turtles to be seen in the spring. We’ll be watching for them as well as other hearty turtle species like wild spotted turtles and red-bellied turtles…can’t wait!
Thanks so much for reading and joining us for our turtle celebration of Dr. Seuss’s Birthday and National Read Across America Day today, and World Wildlife Day tomorrow!
