Eastern Spiny Softshell hatchling ready for release. / © K.P. McFarland
With a pointed snout and a leathery shell, the Spiny Softshell Turtle is certainly one of Vermont’s odder-looking reptiles. It is also listed as Threatened in Vermont. Steve Parren of the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department joins Sara Zahendra and Kent McFarland to talk about natural history and conservation of the Spiny Softshell Turtle.
Listen to the show
Video
MORE INFORMATION
- Vermont Fish And Wildlife Department facts about the Eastern Spiny Softshell Turtle.
- A printable pamphlet about the turtles from the Vermont Fish And Wildlife Department.
- Add your own turtle sightings to iNaturalist Vermont, a project of the Vermont Atlas Of Life.
Images from the Show
Sara Zahendra and Steve Parren talking turtles. / © K.P. McFarland
Sara examines a tiny hatchling Map Turtle that will soon be released into the lake. / © K.P. McFarland
Map Turtle with an egg yolk scar still showing on its under shell. / © K.P. McFarland
A Map Turtle and a Painted Turtle ready to be released into the lake. / © K.P. McFarland
Hatchling Spiny Softshell Turtle ready to be released into the lake. / © K.P. McFarland
An infertile Map Turtle egg from a nest. / © K.P. McFarland
Hatchling Spiny Softshell Turtle. / © K.P. McFarland
Steve Parren and Sara excavate a turtle nest that has hatchlings to be released safely in the lake. / © K.P. McFarland
Sara releases a hatchling Spiny Softshell Turtle into the lake. / © K.P. McFarland
Outdoor Radio is produced in collaboration with Vermont Public Radio with support from the Jack and Dorothy Byrne Foundation.
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My granddaughter found one and we released it back into the creek.