Pollution might kill them off but I don't think I'd worry about the
raccoons. Both have been around for a long, long time. There are other
turtle nest predators as well including crows, jays and ants. I don't
have any stats on turtle egg and hatchling survival but alligators only
manage about 1 percent that reach a size of about 3 feet. A lot of that
loss is after they hatch but raccoons still manage to take a pretty good
toll on gator nests even with mom standing guard almost all the time.
Savvy turtle moms in Florida have been reported to lay their eggs next
to the gator nest. Dangerous for moms and hatchlings both but
apparently successful for most.
Chuck Norcutt
Dean Hansen wrote:
> I wonder if there will be any snapping turtles in MN or WI in a
> couple decades. Last week I probably saw two dozen turtle nests on the
> shoulders of gravel county roads dug up by, I presume, hungry raccoons.
> Pieces of the white leathery shells were strewn about. I wonder how
> many nests manage to escape these effective predators.
> Does anyone remember reading Holling C. Holling's classic snapping
> turtle tale, "Minn of the Mississippi"?
> Dean
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