A close look at the snapper — the sturgeon of the turtle family

Most people rarely see a snapping turtle in the wild. The most common time we see them is when we’re driving around in the early summer and we encounter an adult female moving to lay its eggs near the road in a sandy or fine gravel area.
Retired conservation officer Mike Webster commented to me that he typically observed snapping turtles in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan during nesting activity around the summer solstice each year. Of course, turtles are very vulnerable at this time of year when attempting to lay their eggs.