A snapping turtle got some help from a Francestown family Tuesday morning after she laid her eggs near a small pond by East Road.
The morning started with a nature sighting, Jessica Marony said Wednesday.
“A minute after my husband had left for work, he drove back to the house and told us he’d seen the turtle up by the pond and that we should go take a look. She was still there when we went up shortly after,” Marony said. “We’d never seen such a large turtle there.”
Marony and her two children, Ava, 8, and Aiden, 11, kept their distance – about 10 feet away and observed.
“She was holding very still, except for what looked like her taking deep breaths, which might have been when she actually laid an egg every once in a while,” Marony said. “We went up later when she was gone and put a couple of wooden stakes on either side of the nest. So hopefully people won’t drive over the eggs.”
Marony said they walk by the spot every day so they plan to keep an eye on the nest. She also shared photos on Facebook because she knows other Francestown residents enjoy local wildlife like her and because she wants people to watch out for the turtle and her eggs.
“It would definitely be amazing to see them hatch,” she said. “One of our local firefighters had commented that someone should mark the area so he wouldn’t accidentally park a fire truck on the nest.”
Snapping turtle females lay 10 to 80 eggs in mid-June. Hatchlings emerge in 80 to 90 days, according to New Hampshire Fish and Game.