What is going on here? Well, it's Box Turtle Love! I ran into this lovey-dovey pair this morning and, after taking a bunch of pictures and returning a few times over the next hour or so, I was able to determine that this is a perfectly normal kind of turtle love -- the male on his back attached to the female and both in the happy business of making more turtles (or so we fervently hope). Apparently they can stay in flagrante (the expression certainly fits) for up to three hours and the female has been known to drag the male around.
I should say that, although the male looks helpless in this position, when I approached too close, he was able to 'sit up' quite a bit more, stick out his claws and open his mouth in a very threatening manner. These are not Snapping Turtles but he looked as though he was quite ready to deliver quite a nip.
Later they ended up like this; looks like they've switched positions. Maybe he's guarding here while she lays the now-fertilized eggs! A short while later they were gone and there were few signs of their torpid dalliance.
Eric Salzman
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