Posts Tagged "Florida soft shell turtle"

What The Zoom Doth Show

Posted by Pat Stewart on Sep 8, 2013 in My Blog | 0 comments

I had just picked up my Kansas daughter at the airport in Ft. Lauderdale and we headed straight for the Wakodahatchee Wetlands which I have quickly come to love visiting.  There is always something new there.  But, even if that were not the case, the usual residents are quite interesting enough!  There are the “frequent fliers” …the herons, anhingas, egrets and cormorants nesting in the rookeries that are just amazing to watch.  I’ve seen a child-size iguana, much more than I hoped for and heard alligators.  I really don’t mind that I have not seen them, quite all right! After enjoying about an hour of  bird-watching, which is pure joy to me, we began our trek back along the raised boardwalk traversing the marshy, wetlands enjoying the sounds and a casual look-see over the railing.  “Oh, Mom, look…here’s a turtle!  You know how I love turtles!”  Sure enough, there was a turtle beneath the water, except for most of its head, trying to snatch a bite out of a Pond Apple floating in the wetlands.  I was intrigued by both the turtle and the Pond Apple, otherwise known as Alligator Apple. Later at home, I uploaded my photos and was shocked to see the turtle had a POINTED NOSE!!!  It was rather eerie looking and to me it somewhat resembled a pig snout.  (I know…ewe!!)  I had never seen such a thing and began to research it.  The pointed-nose turtle is the Florida Soft Shell turtle which is known to be aggressive.  It is reported to bite like a snapping turtle and be quite able to remove a finger!  So another reason to NOT go into the water in a swamp or wetland in south Florida For me, I’ll just stick to taking photos…from above on the boardwalk is just...