6/26/2024 Photo of the Day - Caution: Turtle Crossing - Painted Turtle


 

26 June 2024- 

While walking through the prairie we sometimes have to pause for a brief search-and-rescue operation for the local wildlife. This small fellow is just one of the three baby painted turtles we’ve encountered so far this summer and like its (presumed) siblings we gave it a brief airlift to a nearby swamp. The painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) is the most common turtle in Minnesota, so you’ve probably seen one in a nearby shallow lake or slow-moving creek. Adult turtles can have shells up to 10 inches in length, but this little guy was only about 1 inch long!

Like a true native Minnesotan, the painted turtle has adaptations to survive the frigid winters. They spend their winters trapped in mud or under ice where oxygen is limited and often completely inaccessible. Other vertebrates share the ability to live without oxygen for a short time, but painted turtles have specific shell mechanisms that allow them to survive for months under the mud in near-freezing temperatures! I personally wouldn’t mind skipping the next MN winter–perhaps I can take some strategies from our painted turtle friends.


- lbg🐢


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