Far away from any adult supervision, this baby snapping turtle seemed to be having trouble figuring out how to forage for food on his own. He stretched out his neck as far as it would go, but was still not within reach of the plants that he was eying. The realization had not yet struck him that was going to have to move his body closer. Just above him you can see a little fish that was monitoring his progress, but staying beyond the reach of those jaws, in case the turtle decides he needs a little protein in his diet.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Mike Powell 
Interesting how long the head and neck seem in relation to the rest of the body, at least on a young individual like this. Apparently their shells grow to match the rest of them.
That is a long neck … and an interesting shot.
I am always amazed when I see snapping turtles extend their necks. I think I remember reading that snapping turtles are one of the few breeds of turtles that can’t pull their bodies entirely inside their shells.
He probably wouldn’t have any trouble latching on to a finger or toe.
Nope. I like to keep a good distance from these guys, even the little ones.
You are really good at finding all sorts of cool critters in your neighborhood. I look forward to the “critter(s) of the day” each time I log into wordpress!
Thanks, Sue. My extended neighborhood is pretty suburban, but I am continuously amazed by the diversity of the wildlife that I am able to find. As I looked over my blog recently, I realize that I don’t do quite as many flowers as I used to–I think that bugs and birds, reptiles and mammals have my attention now.
Excellent eye spotting him and an excellent shot too 🙂
Thanks, Ed. I was fortunate that he was in a very open area where the water level was pretty low.
Low tide?
The water level at the marsh where I do a lot of shooting has been getting pretty low in most spots, mostly because of the lack of rain.
I can’t imagine seeing a baby turtle crawl out of the water. So cute!