With the record rains and high water at the Falls of the Ohio State Park, 2011 has already become a memorable year. Of all the wildlife I have observed this Spring, the sightings of so many Eastern Box Turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) has added to the mystique of this year. My history with this engaging turtle in this park is slim. During the eight previous years I’ve come across live specimens only twice. On two other occasions I’ve found the intact carapaces of deceased turtles, one of which had a pellet-sized hole in its shell. Their relative scarcity reinforced the idea that although this is a widespread turtle in our country, it was becoming less common for many reasons including habitat loss, road kills, and wild animals collected for the pet trade. What I’m about to present is a portfolio of eight individual box turtles that I have seen and photographed over the last two months. No doubt the flooding helped concentrate them in ever shrinking territories and this is why I came to find them. I tried to be careful in handling and left them where they were found. The first turtle I came across was in the western section of the park and here are two images of it.
This one was found after the first flood. It has really interesting and colorful beading on its neck.
The Box Turtle #2 was found swimming to higher ground during the height of the second flood in May and in the eastern section of the park.
Box Turtle #3, I found twice in the same day in the eastern section of the park. Here is what it looked like. Note that the second scute bears what looks like a lower case letter “a” on its shell.
And now for the opposite side of turtle #3…
Here’s the same turtle the second time around and this time he has found a friend!
At first I thought this was a male and female turtle, but I didn’t check anything but eye color which in this case was on the red side indicating the chance they were both male. When I came across them, they were certainly aware of each other. The larger of the two box turtles may have been the older specimen based on how worn its shell was. I’ve heard that counting the growth rings on these turtles is not a reliable way to determine their ages. My field guides indicated that this is a long-lived turtle with individuals easily living to 40 to 50 years and in rare cases possibly a 100 years old. Here are three images with Box Turtle #4.
Box Turtle #5 …I only have one image of it mostly retracted in its shell. This one is also from the eastern section of the park.
Box Turtle #6 is very colorful and was found near the Interpretive Center during the height of the flood. Although it’s hard to tell…it’s standing on the remains of a refrigerator that floated in with the Ohio River.
The next two turtles are the smallest ones I’ve found thus far and each was found in the eastern section of the Falls of the Ohio State Park. This is Box Turtle #7.
Here’s the underside of the same turtle showing the plastron and the hinge that allows the box turtle to completely hide inside its shell.
To close, I have three images of Box Turtle #8 and its the smallest yet. One other thing I noticed about this little guy was that it was missing part of its left front foot which had healed from whatever injured it.
Another image to help provide scale using a quarter for a guide.
Of all the info I learned about box turtles, the fact that most surprised me is that if left alone they can live their entire lives in a relatively restricted area the size of a football field. They become so habituated to this territory that if they are moved from their familiar surroundings they can become dislocated and fail to thrive. This is a good reason not to take these turtles out of the wild. I placed #8 on the ground wishing it well. It pleased me knowing that there were at least this many box turtles in this small park. I wonder how many others I will come across before year’s end?
Artist at Exit 0 Riverblog 
When I was a kid in rural Maryland, it was a given that my mom and I would see lots of box turtles on our spring and summer walks through the fields. As the area around them got built up, the turtles completely disappeared. It has probably been over 15 years since I’ve seen a turtle at my parents’ place. It sure is nice to see them here in your post. (I particularly loved seeing the little one that fit on your palm!)
I also grew up in rural MD and box turtles were always around in the summer. We would see them crossing the road and stop the car to move them across. My sister and I sometimes kept them as temporary pets inside a tractor tire in the yard, and then released them a few weeks later. I feel terrible about it now, knowing that they might never have recovered their orientation when we released them. I have no idea what the turtle situation is in that area now, 25 years later. I feel very nostalgic now!
Sounds like Maryland could use some box turtles…don’t want them to be a thing of the past! Thanks for your comment.
Thank you for the lovely post. The turtles look like they are thriving–smooth shells, bright eyes, well-nourished. A wonderful reminder of why habitat retention is everything.
I agree…we need to keep the wild things of the world where they will do best. Thanks for your comment.
Nice pics of the turtles. Congrats on being FP!
Thanks Harold…being FPed has been amazing!
Great pictures! I think I remember a study a few years back trying to determine how common these turtles still were. Maybe someone else will recall the organization.
Never seen one in real life! In pictures they look cute… :o)…
Thanks for checking this out!
How very pretty. The shell has the most gorgeous patterns.
I remember as a kid growing up in Fort Knox we would find box turtles all over the reservation. That memory is an important part of my childhood. Seems your experiences with this charming animal did the same for you.
There is something so prehistoric yet totally cool about turtles — love these pix!
🙂
I read somewhere that among the reptiles…the turtles are the oldest. They do look from a time gone by. Thanks for your comment!
Really Interesting
OMG, they are so cute! I love turtles! And the smaller they are, the cuter. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
I completely agree…few things are as cute as a baby turtle! Thanks for checking out the Riverblog.
I LOVE box turtles! I had one for a while when I was about five years old. Turtles are such neat animals.
wonderful shots, we love animals
check our nature photos
Thanks for commenting…I’ll check out your images too.
Beautiful, I love turtles. Great pictures! I’ve been doing a herpetofaunal (reptile and amphibian) survey in some wetlands in New York but in terms of turtles, so far I’ve only seen a Spotted turtle. Still, a rare find!
http://wolvesonceroamed.wordpress.com/
Thanks for commenting. I love turtles too and this has been a banner year for our local box turtles. In my next post I will show you one that I made from the local materials.
Those are some handsome turtles! 🙂
If I see them again I will tell them you thought so!!! Thanks for your comment!
Great pictures. Seeing thos individual markings was incredible.
Thank you for liking my pictures!
[…] Year of the Box Turtles […]
Thanks for your comment! I checked out your blog and especially like the photography and old master posts!!
I’ve read that the unfortunate introduction of red-eared sliders (a non-native, aggressive turtle) into the North American wild is destroying other turtle populations. I wonder if this is what is happening to the box turtles.
I haven’t heard this, but I have seen red-eared sliders and they tend to be primarily aquatic whereas the box turtle is more terrestrial. Thanks for your comment!
I love turtle shells…the designs are soo beautiful! Great pics!
Their shells are beautiful and I was surprised by the variation in this group of turtles. Thanks for checking out the Riverblog.
There aren’t many box turtles in my corner of the world but it is nice to see these pics. You would most likely see a South American Wood Turtle. We also have red-ear sliders but these are not native to my country (Trinidad). They are however sold in many pet stores. Being a huge fan of turtles, I must say, great job for posting this blog!
Thank you for your nice comment. I had no idea that there were so many turtle lovers out there!
very nice pictures,thanks,see my site,i hope to enjoy
aryanmolaei.wordpress.com
Nice pictures! I think this is the first time I’ve seen so many pictures of turtles :)…they remind me of dinosaurs.
Finding this many turtles in this place was a surprise to me…but a good one! Thanks for your comment.
Amazing post! We come across a few of these little guys where we live. Fascinating little creatures and we adore them. Thanks for sharing this!
You are welcome and thanks for commenting…glad you enjoyed the Riverblog!
I love turtles!
Thanks for your comment!
I guess you can tell I’m a turtle lover by my avatar =) These are wonderful shots of some of the cutest creatures I’ve ever seen. I’ve seen turtles half the size of your thumb, and you won’t believe how adorable they were. You make one very nice photographer.
Thank you for commenting. Many years a go, I found a few baby box turtles in a different location than the Falls of the Ohio and they were the cutest turtles I’ve ever seen. Seeing these babies is kind of rare…most sightings are of adults.
Their shells are lovely. I’ve only seen a few, and never little, bitty ones. I’m jealous!
I love the patterns on these turtles and how variable they can be! Thanks for your comment.
Beautiful pictures of some great turtles! It’s sweet how careful you were with them. My boyfriend has snappers that he’s had for about 20+ years. He often jokes about how he wants to have his coffin fitted with special brackets so the turtles can be two of his pall bearers 😉 Yup, they’re going to live a long time. Turtles are fascinating creatures and I love that they essentially are dinosaurs (it’s one of the reasons I also love birds and their scaly dino feet!).
Congrats on the FP!
Your boyfriend sounds like an interesting guy! Thanks for your nice comments.
I like turtels! Thanks for sharing these wonderfull pictures!
Keep it green!
Stefan
Thanks for taking the time to say hey!
those turtles are very cute. Well shot pics
Thanks for liking these photos!!! Best to you always.
It was wonderful to see this nearly tiny variety as I have seen the really large ones in our city zoo which live to over a hundred
It’s amazing how old some members of the turtle family can live! Thanks for your comment!
good one..
Thanks for noticing!
Amazing , adventurous Turtles. Brings out the kid in you. congrats.
Excellent pictures! I will have to share this post with my son, he loves loves loves turtles. Congrats on FP!
Thanks!!! Getting FPed is awesome and I’m glad you want to share these images with your son. Appreciate your comment.
Thanks.
http://calogeromiratraveland.wordpress.com
You are welcome!
Southern Indiana, near Lake Monroe, is the only place I have ever seen a box turtle in the wild, despite more than 50 years of exploring wild places. Thank you for sharing these pictures. They’re beautiful creatures.
Thanks Smokey, I appreciate the comment!
This was so interesting and took me back to my Grandmother talking about the same things that you have said here. We would see them quite often on our walks around Wilmette parks when I was a young girl.
Hi Leslie, It was interesting to hear from so many people that these turtles were something folks remembered wisfully from their past.
Oh this is one FULL blogcasa! YES! Turtles for everyone. When I was a kid you could still buy tiny ones at the 5 and Dime store. Hi Al.
I remember that too! I also recall my first self-portrait in kindergarten when the teacher asked us to imagine what profession we would be once we grew up. I thought I might become a scientist and drew myself in crayons standing in white lab coat next to a table that had two turtles in a bowl with a plastic palm tree in it! Funny the things we remember! Yes, this turtle story was picked up by Word Press’ Freshly Pressed and people all over the world responded. Stats wise…it was my best day ever.