So here we have turtle bones in an area of red mangroves at full moon low tide. My son was thrilled at the find for his environmental site project. He assumes the turtle (green or loggerhead) got caught up in the 7 to 9 foot water surge of Hurricane Wilma last October and came to rest here in the mangroves on the Gulf side of the Keys in shallow waters. The six months following the hurricane provided time for the crabs, birds, raccoons and insects to take over. New life abounds and recovery underway here. I know my artist sister would love to get her hands on these bones! He has great field notes on his site and I am enjoying the walks in and around the waters edge as well as inland in the hardwood hammocks.
Cool beans! That frog skeleton looks amazing!
ReplyDeleteArghhhhhh... Just like you to figure out that it is indeed a 200 pound frog skeleton... I just can't fool the bone collector! LOL
ReplyDeleteYikes, that is a big frog! Those flipper bits are very cool.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was at college, I found a dead snapping turtle with a shell that was about 40" long. Enormous! Unfortunately there was pouring rain that day, and by the time I got someone to help me load it into the back of my car, the carcass had slipped back into the pond. A real shame - I was looking forward to adding that skull to my collection.
Well,,,,, I'll tell ya... it is just outside the santuary and if we get the species and let the general public ( B K) then I'll snatch the parts for you for sure... just want to make sure it is documented as Wilma collateral and that it is not on protected lands and BAM.... you may collect it and paint, photograph and make something of it... thing is... that April here is the second driest in history... and the May rains aren't far away and hopefully we will know one way or the other if we can take or not.
ReplyDeleteWith that said... we'll keep you posted Ms. bone collector... what a great shadow box it would be... remains from the food chain.. you may have to make the trip here to be the collector!