Pond Keepers: Spotted Turtle

Today during some creature collecting at Louisa Pond, I came upon a really cool herp. I was trekking my way through the tall reeds to get to some deeper water in search of some Water Scorpion and tadpoles, when I look to my right and sunning itself on this warm, spring day was a Spotted Turtle! Super cool find! At the Preserve, we have a resident Spotted Turtle, Spot, who was injured and only has three-legs. So I had seem them before, but never in the wild..until now.

Apparently, they are a common turtle in the Hudson Valley, but many of its habitat range has been lost due to development encroachment from New York City. It was super docile and calm as I was able to check it out closer. They literally do have yellow to light orange spots on their black shells.

Super cool to see these turtles out in the wild. They are also very sensitive to pollution and can rapidly disappear with declining water quality. Good to know Louisa Pond is in tip top shape to house this beautiful creature!

TheChristyBel