Woodland Box Turtle

Posts Tagged ‘Woodland Box Turtle’

Woodland Box Turtles

Posted in Nature, Photography, spring, turtle, wildlife, tagged box turtle, Canon 7D, Eastern Box Turtle, Lorton VA, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Occoquan Regional Park, Tamron 18-400mm, Terrapene carolina, Terrapene carolina carolina, Woodbridge VA, Woodland Box Turtle on May 11, 2024| 6 Comments »

Over the past week I have spotted Woodland Box Turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) at two different locations in my local area. The red eyes of both turtles suggest that that they are males, though I have read that eye color is not always 100% accurate in determining the gender of a box turtle. The shell pattern for each box turtle is supposed to be unique, like a fingerprint, and you can definitely see differences in the patterns on the shells of these two turtles.

It is always a treat to spot one of these box turtles, because they are so cool-looking. Unlike many turtles, the box turtle is primarily terrestrial rather than aquatic, and most of the times that I have encountered them, they have been out in the open. According to the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR), “The box turtle has a low reproductive rate and is long lived. It requires 10-20 years to reach sexual maturity. Box turtles may sometimes live to over 100 years.”

Virginia has special protections for this species. According to the DWR, “it is illegal to keep one in your home in Virginia due to the significant number of wild caught animals found in captivity. This species is primarily threatened due to the thousands that are caught for the pet trade from the wild each year; although habitat fragmentation and urbanization also account for a fraction of the population’s drop of 32% over the last 100 years.”

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Posted in Autumn, Nature, Photography, Reptiles, turtle, wildlife, tagged box turtle, Canon 7D, Eastern Box Turtle, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Terrapene carolina, Terrapene carolina carolina, Woodbridge VA, Woodland Box Turtle on November 3, 2023| 10 Comments »

I encountered this Woodland Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) last Friday on a paved road at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The brown color of the eyes suggests that this is a female—males generally have red eyes. However, according to the Virginia Herpetological Society, “The color of the iris is sometimes considered indicative of a turtle’s sex, but it is not always reliable.”

The turtle was quite small, about the size of the palm of my hand. I normally try not to disturb wildlife, but I worried that this turtle might be hit by a car, so I picked it up and moved it off of the surface of the road. I was concerned that its claws might scratch me, but the turtle drew in all of its legs and its head as soon as I lifted it.

Hopefully this turtle will live to a ripe old age, but it definitely needs to stay out of traffic, according to the Virginia Herpetological Society, “Box turtles are notorious for living as long, or longer, than humans. An adult male with the date 1874 carved in its plastron was found in Rockingham County in August 1985 (Daily News Record, Harrisonburg), indicating an age of >111 years. It is difficult to confirm such sightings, however.” Yikes!

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Moving slowly into November

Posted in Autumn, Nature, Photography, Reptiles, wildlife, tagged box turtle, Canon 50D, Eastern Box Turtle, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Terrapene carolina, Terrapene carolina carolina, Woodbridge VA, Woodland Box Turtle on November 2, 2021| 11 Comments »

It is hard to believe that it is already November. Rather than rushing boldly forward, I think that I will ease my way slowly into the new month, following the example of this Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) that I spotted last Thursday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I believe this is a female box turtle—females of this species, which are also known as Woodland Box Turtles, generally have brown eyes, while the males most often have bright red eyes.

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Red-eye Express

Posted in Autumn, Nature, Photography, Reptiles, turtle, wildlife, tagged box turtle, Canon 50D, Eastern Box Turtle, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Terrapene carolina carolina, Woodbridge VA, Woodland Box Turtle on October 14, 2021| 14 Comments »

This Woodland Box Turtle, a species that is also known as an Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) was chilling out in the grass at the edge of a trail when I spotted it last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. It was not moving about very much, but I could sense a real intensity in its bright red eyes.

In order to capture this shot, I got down as low as I could, though I was not quite low enough to be at eye level with the turtle. I was quite happy to be able to capture a lot of detail in the shell and in the portion of the head sticking out of the shell. I encourage you to click on the image to get a closer view of the wonderful details of this strikingly handsome box turtle.

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Smiling turtle

Posted in Nature, Photography, Reptiles, spring, wildlife, tagged box turtle, Canon 50D, Eastern Box Turtle, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Terrapene carolina carolina, Woodbridge VA, Woodland Box Turtle on May 12, 2018| 7 Comments »

Can turtles smile? It is always cool to see turtles in the wild, especially Woodland Box Turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina), like this beauty that I spotted yesterday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. She seemed to be trying to smile when I snapped her portrait. (I think the turtle is a female because of her brown eyes—males usually have red eyes.)

There is something really special for me about seeing the color, patterns, and even the shape of this turtle’s shell, which is quite distinctive and unlike that of any other turtle that I see. These turtles, which are also known as Eastern Box Turtles, can live for a long time, as much as 100 years when in captivity, according to Wikipedia. In the wild, though, their life span is considerably shorter. Why? According to the same article in Wikipedia, “Box turtles are slow crawlers, extremely long lived, slow to mature, and have relatively few offspring per year. These characteristics, along with a propensity to get hit by cars and agricultural machinery, make all box turtle species particularly susceptible to anthropogenic, or human-induced, mortality.”

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Autumn box turtle

Posted in Autumn, Nature, Photography, Reptiles, wildlife, tagged box turtle, Canon 50D, Eastern Box Turtle, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Terrapene carolina carolina, Woodbridge VA, Woodland Box Turtle on October 20, 2017| 7 Comments »

One of the coolest turtles in our area is the Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina), also known as the Woodland Box Turtle. Unlike many turtles, this one spends most of its time on land rather than in the water. I spotted this beauty, which is probably a male, last weekend at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge as it was slowly making its way across a trail—males generally have red eyes and the females have brown eyes.

As I was doing a little research, I discovered that the Eastern Box Turtle is the official state reptile of North Carolina and Tennessee. Who even knew that states had official reptiles? According to an article in ncpedia.org, the General Assembly of 1979 designated the Eastern Box Turtle as the official State Reptile for North Carolina. Given that this was agreed in a legislative body, debates were held about the relative merits of this reptile versus other potential candidates.

I couldn’t help but laugh as I read the words of the preamble to the legislative bill that cited a variety of reasons why the box turtle was selected:

“Whereas, the turtle is a most useful creature who serves to control harmful and
pestiferous insects, and acts as one of nature’s clean-up crew, helping to preserve
the purity and beauty of our waters; and

Whereas, the turtle is derided by some who have missed the finer things of life,
but in some species has provided food that is a gourmet’s delight; and

Whereas, the turtle, which at a superficial glance appears to be a mundane and
uninteresting creature, is actually a most fascinating creature, ranging from
species well adapted to modern conditions to species which have existed
virtually unchanged since prehistoric times; and

Whereas, the turtle watches undisturbed as countless generations of faster hares
run by to quick oblivion, and is thus a model of patience for mankind, and a
symbol of this State’s unrelenting pursuit of great and lofty goals; and

Whereas, the woodlands, marshes, and inland and coastal waters of North
Carolina are the abode of many species of turtles; Now, therefore. . .”

As an interesting sidenote, Virginia, the state in which I live, has twice considered adopting this turtle as the state’s official reptile, but rejected the legislative proposals in 1999 and 2009. A posting on nbcwashington.com reported that during discussions in 2009, one delegate asked why Virginia would make an official emblem of an animal that retreats into its shell when frightened and dies by the thousands crawling across roads and counterproposed that the rattlesnake be chosen. The fatal blow, according to the posting, might have been the disclosure that the Latin name for the Eastern Box Turtle—Terrapene carolina carolina—implied too close a relation to a Virginia regional rival.

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Mike Powell

My journey through photography

Posts Tagged ‘Woodland Box Turtle’