I have kept a photographic record of all the box turtles I have seen here at the house for about the past 12 years. This one was not one of "mine." Cause for excitement around here.
Take a good look at this turtle. Notice something a little odd about her eye?...It's not there. Yep, it's a one-eyed turtle. Her left eye was perfectly normal, her right was non-existent. She was in pretty good shape so I guess it hasn't caused her too much problem. We tossed her a piece of plum and a couple of blueberries. She gobbled up our offerings and then headed off back into the yard.
Carry on my little friend -- I've got you on my list now. You're one of mine.
7 comments:
Nice angle on that photo. Not sure I would have thought of that. Can I steal it?
Very interesting. It appears that this box turtle has a tiny little "fake" eye that doesn't work, at least that what it looks like Did it? I once found a painted turtle that looked like it had lost its eye and and then had a small non-functioning eye grow to replace it. It was quite strange, now that I think about it.
Tom
Neat picture. I'm constantly amazed at how well animals adapt to compensate for injuries.
What a sweet turtle.
You live in a great place, where these little tanks full of history trundle around. How completely lovely.
pablo,
Just grab your camera and plop down on the ground face first -- angle achieved :)
tom,
There was some sort of structure in the eye socket and the turtle made blinking motions even though the lid seemed to be fused in some fashion. Very strange looking.
wren,
I have seen some odd things out there, particularly in turtles. Such resilience!
hugh,
We are lucky to have such rich diveristy here. Box turtles are by far my favorite turtle - and I like your description, they are little tanks full of history.
When I enlarge this photo, it looks like a still from a Ray Harryhausen film.
tf23,
Yep, she could have been a star -- but I don't know if she would like being in a "monster" movie ;)
Post a Comment