A New Generation of Cooters...Hopefully!

  While out picking figs, I noticed a large "blob" down the hill near the wild persimmon trees.  This blob was doing a slow wobble back and forth which meant only one thing...this was a female turtle digging a hole with her hind legs.  I eased my way down the hillside to get a better look. Sure enough, a female Cooter turtle was in the process of creating the perfect nest for her eggs.  The soft mulch had been pulled aside and she was now digging in the sandy soil beneath.  She stopped for a moment to see if I was a predator.  I slowly edged around her a good thirty feet away so as to not unduly disturb her.  After making a wide circle around, I headed back to my chore and left her in peace.  As I picked figs, I had a good view of the turtle's choice spot.  Even though she hesitated for a few moments when she noticed me, she resumed her goal of egg-laying.  It was not long before she had completed the task at hand and turned to head back into the marsh.

  I am not certain that the name is correct but these have always been Cooter turtles to me.  Pop first mentioned the name when we had the turtles in the huge pond on the old farmplace.  The back of the Bayou is filled with such wonders as these turtles and they make their way up the hillside to lay eggs.  I am always impressed that any of the eggs ever hatch since so many predators are eager to dig the nests. Raccoons, fox, bobcats, rats and even crows will dine on the eggs given a chance.

  *Little known fact about Cooter turtles!  Are you aware that these turtles cannot swallow when out of the water?  They mostly eat aquatic plants but will catch insects and small fish when available.  Regardless of their meal, they have to go underwater to swallow it.  Now you know...sort of interesting at least to me.  

  Since I know exactly where this nest is, my aim is to keep watch.  If no predators raid the spot, perhaps the little ones will make it back down the hill to the marsh.  They will go from one predator-filled spot into another.  Hopefully, they will survive and another generation can be seen sun-basking on the marsh mats of the Bayou.