Digging Nests
Could it be that time already?! The abundant warmth and sunshine has been drawing the spiny softshell turtles out to bask, swim and now excavate! This big girl was digging away in the gravel, pitching big clods of dirt and stones with her powerful back legs working to create a safe nest hole to drop her eggs. Once the eggs are laid, the turtles will develop throughout the summer and hatch in late August and early September. Last summer we didn’t witness any little ones hatching as many of the nests were predated. But we’ve got our fingers crossed that this summer will prove to be...
Read MorePile o’ Turtles
Turtles, turtles and more turtles! That was my view of a small section of the Chadakoin River last week as over a dozen spiny softshell turtles (Apalone spinifera) lined the exposed concrete and sandbars at the river’s edge. These girls and little boy hauled themselves out of the water and piled themselves onto the concrete debris left in the river from some form of development. While this seems like an unlikely place for these turtles to live, they appear to be well adapted to their urban habitat. We are excited to have the opportunity to begin studying these Muppet-like turtles and...
Read MoreCope’s Vine Snake (Oxybelis brevirostris)
This very charismatic Cope’s Vine Snake (Oxybelis brevirostris) was found on a night hike at Rara Avis Rainforest Preserve in Costa Rica. Photographed by RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser for the Meet Your Neighbours global biodiversity project in Costa Rica while on assignment for the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History.
Read MoreFer-de-lance (Bothrops asper)
Lurking in the shadows of the rainforest, the Fer-de-lance (Bothrops asper) reigns supreme. Always finding dynamic areas to coil up and find a prey species, this individual was waiting on a fallen log in a stream corridor. Photographed by RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser in Costa Rica while on assignment for the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History.
Read MoreGreen Iguana (Iguana iguana)
The answer to this post? The Green Iguana (Iguana iguana)! This wild individual was photographed in Costa Rica by RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser for the Meet Your Neighbours global divesity project.
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