Eastern Box Turtle - Terrapene carolina

14 June 2013    ©smck

"Box turtles are usually seen early in the day or after rain (it was in fact raining when this photograph was taken); they often retire to swampy areas during the hot summer months. They are fond of slugs, earthworms, wild strawberries, and mushrooms poisonous to man - which has killed many a human who has eaten their flesh.  New York Indians are responsible for eliminating this turtle from much of the area between Ohio and New England; they ate Box Turtle meat, used the shells for ceremonial rattles and buried turtles with the dead.  A few specimens are known to have lived for more than 100 years, having served as 'living records,' - with fathers then sons carving their names or other family records on their shells.  If habitat conditions remain constant, a Box Turtle may spend its life in an area scarcely larger than a football field."  -   from The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles & Amphibians