The Gilsland Farm Visitor Center is pleased to introduce the newest member of our team, measuring in at about 6 centimeters long with a mass of 9.07 grams. This new addition brings us so much joy already! Please join us in welcoming our baby Common Snapping Turtle, Leo!
On a chilly September afternoon, Andy Kapinos and I stumbled upon two visitors carefully observing a tiny snapping turtle on the dirt road into Gilsland Farm. The youngster had hatched recently in one of the hidden underground nests our local adult turtles lay in the spring. Sometimes we find dozens of baby turtles emerging together, but this baby was on its own and we don’t know exactly where or when it hatched.
Wanting to give visitors the chance to connect with and observe one of our native reptile species, we decided to house this one over the winter, as we’ve done in years past. After a few days of debate, we decided to name them Leo after the protagonist of the A Monarch Butterfly Story, the story walk of which sits next to the site of Leo’s discovery. Leo’s origin story is not unlike our two other Snapping Turtle hatchlings, Muddy and Snap Pea, who spent previous winters in the Discovery Room before returning to the wild.
Leo serves an important role as an educator. Visitors and school groups coming to Gilsland Farm and provides can have an up close (and safe) look at a Common Snapping Turtle. While other turtles will spend the colder months in a hibernation-like state called brumation, Leo can be observed swimming, camouflaging, eating and sleeping in their new home modeled after a pond habitat. Leo also serves as a reminder of turtle conservation efforts that serve more vulnerable populations. Zoo New England works with endangered Blanding’s Turtles and Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife helps Red-bellied Cooters in their successful “Headstart” programs where turtles are housed over the winter to give a higher chance of survival into spring.
Come check Leo out and leave some questions for our naturalists to answer! You might even see them eating live mealworms or partaking in their weekly weigh-in. We’ll be graphing Leo’s growth on the bulletin board, and are happy to share that Leo has already gained over 1 gram. Our plan is to release Leo, healthy and happy and likely much heavier, into the pond this spring.
