When underwater creatures or objects can’t be seen in the watery depths some people are terrified and this fear has a name — megalohydrothalassophobia — the fear of underwater creatures or objects. Thalassophobia is the fear of large bodies of water.

When I was 12, my sisters bought a beautiful farmhouse that was built in the 1880s.

Thirteen acres with ponds, barns, outbuildings wild grapevines, and fruit trees. It really was an amazing place where my sister’s children grew up chasing baby ducks, played with newborn kittens, rode horses, picked wild grapes and connected with nature. As soon as school let out for the summer, the kids could be seen racing across the lawn to the pond to go swimming.

I was the babysitter for my niece and nephew, as well as the neighborhood kids. I would tag along behind them not nearly as excited to swim as they were. I longed for the innocence of not worrying about what was under the surface.

I couldn’t just jump in the pond without scanning the water’s surface, looking for snapping turtle snouts. It was easy to spot them when they came up for air — their little nostrils acting as snorkels. I was worried they were down in the mud at the bottom of the pond or swimming through the water in search of food or worse yet, sunning themselves in the shallow water of the pond.

I believed all the horrible stories about snapping turtles and every time one of the kids screamed, I thought that they were being attacked! What I didn’t know was in the water these turtles are pretty “chill.” They feel vulnerable on land and that’s where I heard stories of nasty reputations. Not once while swimming in the pond, did we encounter a snapping turtle. They were in the pond but must have avoided us each time we were in the pond. I have a feeling they relocated to the depths to keep away from our splashing and carrying on.

Ancient creatures

Snapping turtles truly look like dinosaurs. Their upper shells (carapaces) resemble armor while their jaws are hooked, legs scaly, claws sharp, and tails long. They weigh on average 10-35 pounds but can reach 75 pounds.

Another reason they become aggressive is that despite their size and power, their shells do not fully cover their undersides.

Carapaces are large — up to 18 inches in length — but the lower shells (plastrons) are small, so they cannot fully protect themselves by retreating into their shells like box turtles. The smaller plastron allows for a full range of moment to allow them to be the excellent swimmers they are.

I learned that the plastrons act like sounding boards which means they can feel the slightest vibrations that signal a possible threat.

Humans must feel and look like monsters coming towards them. These turtles have good eyesight so the sight and feel of people moving towards them must being frightening. No wonder they act aggressive.

Older than you think

Snapping turtles can live up to 100 years or more but they don’t reproduce for the first 15 years of their lives. They mate and then the females will excavate holes with powerful legs to lay up to 60 eggs sometime around June with the young hatching sometime in late September or early October. After laying the eggs the females leave them.

Many reptiles don’t protect the eggs and those that do are the exception and not the norm. Unfortunately for these clutches of eggs about 90 percent get eaten before hatching and even young snapping turtles are prey.

It’s estimated that three to five percent actually make it to their first year. These turtles have many predators like raccoons and skunks, coyotes, mink, crows, and foxes.

Snapping turtles are omnivores and are good for the health of lakes and ponds. They eat a lot of vegetation, which helps balance the ecosystem for other plants, fish, frogs, birds, insects, and dragonflies. Of course, they in turn eat those animals found in that aquatic habitat as well. I have heard them called the “turkey vultures of the water” because they will eat any carrion they find.

Females wander for a mile or more looking for good nesting sites and often end up as roadkill. Moving them off the road can be difficult but they should never be picked up by their tails because they are part of the turtles’ spines. Experts believe snapping turtles map their home territories with an internal compass, so never turn a turtle around. They know in which direction they want to go.

I was heading to work one morning and there was a big “snapper” crossing the road so of course I hit the 4-ways and hopped out. As luck would have it I had nothing in the car to encourage it to move along. I came up behind it in the hopes that it would move forward and walk away from me and it turned my way and snapped at me. Who can blame it?

These ancient creatures, which has been roaming the earth for about 90 million years and can live to be 100 years old want nothing to do with us and want to be left alone.

As I stood there an idea came to me. I quickly pulled off my and thermal shirt. With thermal in hand I approached again. I tossed the shirt sleeve at its face and it snapped my shirt with terrifying speed. It wasn’t a pretty rescue as I dragged it across the road into the weeds. My plan went well until I realized I wasn’t getting my shirt back!. So, I left the shirt and turtle and went to work. Later, on my way home, I stopped and retrieved my shirt from the weeds where the turtle left it!

Jeannie Carl is a naturalist at the Carbon County Environmental Education Center in Summit Hill. The center rehabilitates injured animals and educates the public on a variety of wildlife found in the area. For information on the Carbon County Environmental Center, visit www.carboneec.org.