A Missouri Turtle

Typically, when you think Missouri turtle you might think "Box Turtle," but I ran into one that is not in Iowa at a park we went to in Missouri today. She was in the middle of laying eggs. Check out these shots...


This is a Cooter Turtle. She was laying her eggs in some dirt right next to a roadway.


She was undeterred by our shooting photos. We didn't want to bother her too much though. So we took a few shots and then left her be.

In the same park, we also saw a hole that had been dug up where eggs had been ransacked by some foraging animal like a raccoon. I can only assume they were also Cooter Turtle eggs.

While we were there we saw a six lined skink as well. I almost caught him but he was a little too quick on the draw for me.