Eastern Box Turtle

[bobbythehunter]

Well turtles are starting to move. Crossed this one on Wednesday last week. They are pretty rare here. Last one I saw was two years ago. These and wood turtles are two of my favorites.

 

[Marty1]

Well turtles are starting to move. Crossed this one on Wednesday last week. They are pretty rare here. Last one I saw was two years ago. These and wood turtles are two of my favorites.

Wow...A blast from the past for me! Thanks for posting the pics.
Growing up in PA I came across Box Turtles every now and then in the hardwood forests. Have yet to see one here in Massachusetts.

 

[Buck Conner1]

Wow...A blast from the past for me! Thanks for posting the pics.
Growing up in PA I came across Box Turtles every now and then in the hardwood forests.

Same for me Marty, in and around Penn State they seemed more plentyfull than near Valley Forge. Oh, for those days to be repeated .... :thumbs up:......:cheers:

 

[Hanshi]

I like turtles and find the box turtles to be delightful. They are becoming uncommon in some areas due to the black market pet trade. They were/are very common down in my native Georgia. I found one, the smallest I've come across, some years back that was only 2" across. They get hit by cars much to often. Painted turtles are interesting guys. I found one with a carapace that measured over 12".

 

[Buck Conner1]

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Me too Hanshi, long lives for some of them. One's in zoo's always make me feel sorry for them ...
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[bobbythehunter]

Wow...A blast from the past for me! Thanks for posting the pics.
Growing up in PA I came across Box Turtles every now and then in the hardwood forests. Have yet to see one here in Massachusetts.
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I hear you Marty. Almost every one I've ever seen (maybe a dozen) In new England has been crossing a road! Not good. I've heard about illegal black market trade that hanshi mentioned and that just makes me sick. There should be very harsh penalties for those dealing in illegal trade of wild animals. As there should be of those dealing in any kind of human trafficking as well obviously.

 

[Hanshi]

While I can understand some benefits to having "zoos", It saddens me to no end to see creatures confined in cages and insufficient "pens".

 

[Troy sharp shooter]

I find around 15 to 20 box turtles on and around my property every year. My kids love to see them and want to take them home for pets but I tell them they are wild creatures and don't deserve to be placed in pens.

 

[bobbythehunter]

I find around 15 to 20 box turtles on and around my property every year. My kids love to see them and want to take them home for pets but I tell them they are wild creatures and don't deserve to be placed in pens.

Where Troy? Very rare in new England now. Tell your kids that.

 

[bobbythehunter]

Sounds like you have a box turtle refuge. Protect it.

 

[DESPERATE LEE]

When my 2 boys were growing up we found a box shell turtle in my garden. He only ate the over ripe cantaloupe and squash. That turtle returned year after year to our farm. My oldest son had painted a small W on his shell. After several years i did not see ole FRED anymore. Then one year i was mowing the yard and there he was traveling across the yard. Showed the wife as he crossed from one pasture to the next. Havent seen him since.
DL

 

[Hanshi]

Gotta just love these little guys!

 

[Buck Conner1]

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We would find these small kids, seems that the birds liked them and would work them over, now just the shells. We would clean them out. line them with a nice small brain-tanned bag and put a braided neck tie with a few beads. Sell out 40 -50 of these neck bags within a few hours at a rendezvous. :thumbs up:

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[Troy sharp shooter]

I find around 15 to 20 box turtles on and around my property every year. My kids love to see them and want to take them home for pets but I tell them they are wild creatures and don't deserve to be placed in pens.

Blue Ridge Mountains of Va

 

[muzzleloader48]

When we traveled through Missouri I was surprised to see so many box turtles....

 

[muzzleloader48]

While I can understand some benefits to having "zoos", It saddens me to no end to see creatures confined in cages and insufficient "pens".

Hanshi, I totally agree. I understand the theory to preserve these creatures, but at what cost to them? Their natural habitat is what they long for and the freedom to roam. We sat next to a caretaker at Cheyenne Mt. Zoo in Co. Springs and this gorilla was sitting by her on the other side of the glass enclosure. She put her hand on the glass and the gorilla would try to hold it very gently rubbing the glass. That creature seemed so depressed, it was pathetic.

 

[Hanshi]

Yes, it is depressing. And the more intelligent the animal the worse they suffer. Elephants are evolved enough to repeatedly honor and mourn their dead.

I use to have a 40+ or so pound dog named Buddy, a male. We also had a petite basset griffon named Shorty, female. Shorty and Buddy quickly became very close friends. When they played together (all the time, actually) Buddy was so careful to protect the little girl and was so very gentle with her. Then one day they both dashed out the front door; Shorty always had to be with Buddy. Shorty was hit by a car, that never stopped, and killed. Our grief was immediate and severe with much crying, as you can imagine. But Buddy was a tragic case. He was never the same after Shorty died. He wandered the house sniffing Shorty's scent and mourning. I'd never seen such depression in a dog. He started "acting out", forgot his house training and it hurt so to watch the poor guy. It got so bad we had to find him a new home with no connection to Shorty.

In zoos when animals pace back and forth, look longingly toward the outside and seem listless, they are greatly stressed and depressed.

 

[Marty1]

Yes, it is depressing. And the more intelligent the animal the worse they suffer. Elephants are evolved enough to repeatedly honor and mourn their dead.

I use to have a 40+ or so pound dog named Buddy, a male. We also had a petite basset griffon named Shorty, female. Shorty and Buddy quickly became very close friends. When they played together (all the time, actually) Buddy was so careful to protect the little girl and was so very gentle with her. Then one day they both dashed out the front door; Shorty always had to be with Buddy. Shorty was hit by a car, that never stopped, and killed. Our grief was immediate and severe with much crying, as you can imagine. But Buddy was a tragic case. He was never the same after Shorty died. He wandered the house sniffing Shorty's scent and mourning. I'd never seen such depression in a dog. He started "acting out", forgot his house training and it hurt so to watch the poor guy. It got so bad we had to find him a new home with no connection to Shorty.

In zoos when animals pace back and forth, look longingly toward the outside and seem listless, they are greatly stressed and depressed.

Elephants. Many, many years ago we visited a small Zoo. We stopped to watch an un-caged young elephant perform a few tricks to an open audience in folding chairs. All of a sudden the elephant decided that was enough and ran through a sitted crowd. No one was hurt but the concept of "trying" to domesticate wild animals for profit has forever remained in my mind.

 

[LR]

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[Buck Conner1]

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Same here, grandfather had 1,500 acres near Penn State, up Lancaster Valley next to the State Park. Started collecting shells early on, finally turning them into buckskinner neck bags. $$$ :thumbs up:
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