I know you do a lot of field herping in Florida, and I am wondering if you have noticed any dramatic decreases in turtle populations there. I went home over the weekend to LA, and did a little field herping and I noticed a huge drop in the number of Turtles I found from just two years ago. The bayou behind my home was full last time with different types of Mud and Musk turtles, Painted Turtles, CST's, and Softshell Turtles. This time I located two Stinkpots, one CST, and none of the other species, though I did find a Chicken Turtle in our pond and I had never seen them before. Also found a few Alligators, but nothing over three feet. My dad relays that for the past five years, he has seen less and less Turtles and Alligators. Is this trend being seen where you are at also?
question for Snakeguy101.
- Thread starter methos75
- Start date
No, I have been seeing quite a few turtles, gators, and such but I can imagine it would depend on where you were looking. There are a lot of factors contributing to population dynamics and with the brutal winter and the gulf oil spill there have probably been some decreases in certain areas.
That being said I noticed some strange patterns during my canoe trips this summer. In the northern Suwanee river I saw literally hundreds of gators and no turtles but in the Itchetuknee river, I saw hundreds of turtles and no gators. Also in the Santa Fe river there were tons of turtles but no gators. Also, now that you mention it there has been a distinct lack of turtles from shallow man made retention ponds that surround the area. There used to be a sizable population on campus but now that I think about it, I do not think I have seen any lately. This could be due to the unusually harsh winter affecting the smaller ponds.
Its all speculation right now but I dont think there is any need to worry about it.
That being said I noticed some strange patterns during my canoe trips this summer. In the northern Suwanee river I saw literally hundreds of gators and no turtles but in the Itchetuknee river, I saw hundreds of turtles and no gators. Also in the Santa Fe river there were tons of turtles but no gators. Also, now that you mention it there has been a distinct lack of turtles from shallow man made retention ponds that surround the area. There used to be a sizable population on campus but now that I think about it, I do not think I have seen any lately. This could be due to the unusually harsh winter affecting the smaller ponds.
Its all speculation right now but I dont think there is any need to worry about it.
Not really worried yet, just trying to see if there is a pattern. I am going into the Atchafalya nest spring, hope to see a better picture there.
