With a pointed snout, knobby protrusions, and a flat, leathery shell, the Spiny Softshell Turtle is certainly one of Vermont's odder-looking reptiles. It is also listed as threatened in our state. Steve Parren of the Vermont Fish And Wildlife Department joins Sara Zahendra and Kent McFarland to talk about the Spiny Softshell's biology, habitat and some of the threats faced by Vermont's only aquatic turtle.
Here is a video of Parren and Zahendra excavating a turtle nest. And here's a video about the turtle adoption program at the ECHO Center in Burlington.
Follow these links to learn more about the Spiny Softshell Turtle:
- Vermont Fish And Wildlife Department facts about the Eastern Spiny Softshell Turtle.
- A printable pamphlet about the turtles from the Vermont Fish And Wildlife Department.
- Add your own turtle sightings to iNaturalist, a project of the Vermont Atlas Of Life.
Outdoor Radio is produced in collaberation with the Vermont Center For Ecostudies with support from the Jack and Dorothy Byrne Foundation.
