A sunny day in May is ideal for spying a smiling Blanding’s turtle catching rays atop a log or a muskrat lodge in Ontario, western Quebec, or southern Nova Scotia. Solar charging is vital in the weeks after ice-out for the cold-blooded, high-domed reptile, newly arisen from winter torpor at the bottom of a frigid marsh, bog, or beaver pond. Other times, the turtle plods unseen through weedy waterbeds, probing beneath debris with its extra-long, yellow neck, to suction up crayfish, tadpoles, insect larvae, fish eggs and fry, and snails.
Blanding’s are the only Canadian turtles whose shell can completely close after they retract their head and legs, thanks to a specialized hinge. They’re also more footloose than other turtles, most changing locales several times per year for sustenance or…