A Little Bit More
As you take a walk near water in the late spring or early summer, you may be lucky enough to come upon a female turtle laying her eggs. Stay quiet and secluded and you will have an excellent opportunity to watch a process that is not often seen. More often than not, people come upon the remains of a turtle’s nest with its scattered eggshells surrounding a depression in the soil. Raccoons, and skunks are particularly adept at finding and excavating turtle nests, leaving nothing behind but their leathery eggshells.
Turtles are certainly interesting animals and have spawned many stories, fears, and misconceptions all around the world. Nearly all of the North American tribes were interested in turtles; turtles were a part of many of their cultures. Although some of the tribes revered the turtle as sacred, the Creek Indians believed box turtles caused droughts and were known to smash any they came across.
Here are a few myths that may still be believed today:
1. A turtle won’t let go until it thunders. (It’s primitive nervous system may allow a turtle to hang on long after it is dead, but it can certainly be loosened without thunder!)
2. A beheaded turtle won’t die until sundown. (Evening cooling reduces any lingering minor muscle activity in a turtle that died earlier, but the headless turtle was certainly dead when beheaded)
3. Tortoises live to 500 years. (a North American tortoise is reputed to have lived 152 years but that is questionable. One box turtle is known to have lived for 138 years, although the average life span is about 40 years.)
4. Large Snapping Turtles can bite a broomstick in two. (This makes a good story but that kind of strength has never been documented)
Activities
Turtle Tale
Objectives: Creative Writing Exercise
Materials: Internet access, paper and pencil
Turtles have been written about in a wide range of cultures around the world. It seems that turtles have intrigued people for one reason or another and this has sparked all kinds of stories about them. Take this opportunity to look at some of the stories and myths about turtles around the world and then see if you can come up with your own story. It will take a bit of creativity but students should be able to write their own fictional story about turtles (ie. why turtles have shells, why they’re so slow, why they carry their “home” around with them at all times, or why turtles live so long). This can be an enjoyable and creative opportunity for students to improve their writing skills.
There are many stories in folklore about turtles all over the world. Here are a few you can read to give you some ideas:
Nigerian Turtle Tale
Info on Turtles from around the world
Japanese Folktale
The Turtle and His Bride
Philippine Folk Tale
Sioux Story – The Wonderful Turtle
Key Concepts
Behavior and Regulation, Life Cycles
Questions
Do you have a question for a naturalist? Go ahead and ask!
It's easy -- just fill out this form, submit your question and you'll receive an answer shortly.
Posted by barbie runyon on April 30, 2006 at 11:44 PM
Q: i recently got a turtle for my children.i was wandering if you can tell me about the germs they have.someone just informed me that they carry a deadly parasite.
A: Some years back there was a big scare about Salmonella when it was discovered that many pet turtles did have the bacteria on their bodies. This is a bacteria that is often found on reptiles, especially turtles, and can cause sickness in humans. It probably goes without saying that it's always a good idea to wash ones hands after handling animals just to be on the safe side. If your children are too small to understand about keeping their hands out of their mouthes when around your turtle, I'd restrict their contact with the turtle until they're older. Hope this helps.
Posted by Joli McCue on April 26, 2006 at 07:07 PM
Q: I work at An ANimal Hospital. A client recently came in with a turtle of unknown species. The shell resembles that of a red ear slider, but the body is very light grey with multiple large black spots. Any ideas on what type of turtle this might be?
A: I immediately wondered where the turtle was originally found but I think I can figure this out from your description. My guess is that the turtle was found near the ocean! Right? It sounds to me that you have a Northern Diamondback Terrapin (Malaclemys terrepin). These turtles are found in salt and brackish water along the eastern seaboard from Massachusettes all the way to Texas. The shell of these turtles can be especially variable so one may not look a lot like another and cause a bit of confusion.
Diamondback Terrapins feed on crustaceans, fish, mollusks and insects and were once eagerly sought after as food. Female terrapins are quite a bit larger than males (6-9" females vs. 4-5.5" males). Although once quite rare, their numbers have bounced back from over-harvesting and these beautiful creatures are reasonably common in certain coastal areas. Hope this helps with your ID. If you google this turtle you should be able to confirm my ID. Thanks for your question.
Posted by Benjamin King on September 26, 2005 at 10:47 PM
Q: how come turtle's don't have teeth?
A: Science usually stays clear of trying to answer "why" questions. Science often answers other kinds of questions though. Every animal and plant is the way it is(whether toothed or not) because "it works" for them or they wouldn't still survive as a species. Although teeth are a great adaptation found in many animals, other animals (birds, insects, turtles, snails) have found different ways to accomplish the same result. So...turtles have evolved a rather sharp edge to their jaws that allows them to bite through food and this works just fine for them. Of course, turtles don't chew their food but swallow chunks whole.
Hope this helps. Thanks for asking.
Posted by kendra tegstrom on September 01, 2005 at 11:22 PM
Q: I was wondering what kind of turtle we found. It is about the size of my hand. The bottom of the turtle has a orangey red outline around it.The head is black with yellow stripes. Has claws and a pointy tail. Has 3 teeth that we can see.
A: You've found a Painted Turtle. These guys are not only beautiful, they're interesting too. Turtles don't have "teeth" but they do have some tiny projections on their jaw that look like teeth.
Your particular turtle, is a Western Painted Turtle (there are four different varieties) and one of the more common turtles across much of North America. If you're going to keep it, be sure to find out what it eats and how to keep it in a good environment. You should be able to google painted turtles to find out lots about its needs. If you plan to release, you'll want to do so well before cold weather sets in.
Oh yes, one more thing. Be sure to wash your hands after handling the turtle. They sometimes have germs that you need to avoid getting into your mouth (don't go from handling the animal and then biting your nails, for example!)
Thanks for asking.
Posted by kara smith on July 25, 2005 at 05:36 PM
Q: Why do leeches attach to a turtle's shell? Can they actually get blood from it?
A: Leeches can't get blood from the shell. The leech has simply gotten on the turtle's body and will move about the animal until it finds skin to obtain blood. You simply found a turtle with a leech that hadn't yet found a suitable feeding location. Good observation and question on your part.