Not large. Like 2.75" scl. I have seen sandhills take down small turtles before. They mostly poke around for other stuff, but a turtle that small is not all that hard, either. Not especially crunchy. Even without adding milk. Plus albinos stick out and you can get pretty close to them with the difference in vision, so they are at a relative disadvantage. Not saying it was the bird, but not saying it was not. My turtle pond, while modest in size, makes it sometimes difficult to locate some animals. Had a female that was maybe 5.5" and she vanished for four-to-six-week spans. Even when I would dredge it, I did not find her. The albino could still be there, but they are usually a bit too dopey to remain that secretive for a long time, so I am thinking something (whatever it was) took it down for a snack. I agree, too. I would rather have it go to "use" than have it just die on a road or something (I have a very frustrating story in that vein).
Saw the indigo today again, too, maybe fifty feet from the pond. I found a racer right by my largest phayrei (she was sleeping, so the racer had good fortune today; the tortoise catches birds and ringnecks). Went back in to grab my camera. The indigo took off, as did the racer, but I found the racer again later while doling out food to my various colonies and got a few photos. Flash ruined some of the shots. As with the turtles in the pond, various burrows and vegetation-laden areas tend to allow even 16-20" tortoises to seemingly disappear for weeks at a time. I have included two shots of just fractions of areas encompassed by pens for tortoises and other creatures. I have other varied forested spaces and meadow-like spaces in this particular pen along with other pens. I have an elongata that I have not seen in around six weeks.... lol This keeps the species I work with really "happy" despite the difficulty it gives me in locating them.
Those squirrels are adorable. I got to pet a captive one yesterday because someone had one at a show. Thought it was one of the gliders out of the corner of my eye, but I am glad I took the time for a second look. So cute. I like all sorts of squirrels. General arboreal, flying, and ground. I always find it neat to run into an especially beefy fox squirrel. They get huge out in Citrus county. I will see them walking around like bulldog-ish monsters right by cows, turkey vultures, and so forth.
I need to take and add more bird photos to the thread. This is a really nice thread.
Saw the indigo today again, too, maybe fifty feet from the pond. I found a racer right by my largest phayrei (she was sleeping, so the racer had good fortune today; the tortoise catches birds and ringnecks). Went back in to grab my camera. The indigo took off, as did the racer, but I found the racer again later while doling out food to my various colonies and got a few photos. Flash ruined some of the shots. As with the turtles in the pond, various burrows and vegetation-laden areas tend to allow even 16-20" tortoises to seemingly disappear for weeks at a time. I have included two shots of just fractions of areas encompassed by pens for tortoises and other creatures. I have other varied forested spaces and meadow-like spaces in this particular pen along with other pens. I have an elongata that I have not seen in around six weeks.... lol This keeps the species I work with really "happy" despite the difficulty it gives me in locating them.
Those squirrels are adorable. I got to pet a captive one yesterday because someone had one at a show. Thought it was one of the gliders out of the corner of my eye, but I am glad I took the time for a second look. So cute. I like all sorts of squirrels. General arboreal, flying, and ground. I always find it neat to run into an especially beefy fox squirrel. They get huge out in Citrus county. I will see them walking around like bulldog-ish monsters right by cows, turkey vultures, and so forth.
I need to take and add more bird photos to the thread. This is a really nice thread.
