17/09/2026
Say hello to our new northern-most marked Alligator Snapping Turtle in Georgia! After several years of helping GregsTurtleHaven survey for this species in the Georgia piedmont, we finally got around to checking this creek we have been eyeballing for years. It is a small creek that ranges from degraded and choked with invasive vegetation to nearly perfect around the next bend, with large Tupelo trees lining the banks.
I go way back with this swamp. I grew up spending lots of time with my grandmother, who lived along its periphery less than a mile from the point of capture for this turtle. She has been gone 8 years now, and this was the first time I have been back to these woods since she passed. Driving through her neighborhood no longer holds the magical feeling it once did. Most of the big trees have been cut down, and more homes have filled their places. However, the adjacent swamp remains more or less as I remember it from my childhood. I never had much luck turning up anything rare around her house as a kid, but I always knew there had to be something amazing out there given the vibe of the place. It was an indescribable feeling to see this beast materialize in the murky water just as we had lost hope for our mission. This turtle is a young (by turtle standards) male, hopefully indicating that at least some reproduction could still be happening here. Further surveys will hopefully confirm this, but for now enjoy a few photos of this majestic beast and the place it calls home.
