Christmas turtle!

[Flaviemys purvisi]

Hi all, Merry Christmas, I hope you all had a relaxing day with family and loved ones. I decided to take the opportunity whilst the city was dead quiet and hit the creek where I trap every summer for feeder fish. Had my 3 traps in the water less than 10 minutes and they were already teeming with fish so I wandered down to the edge to pull them in and saw the strangest movement like a head being retracted at high speed... I thought it must've been an eel coming to sus out the bait in the trap... I reached down into the murk and reeds and retrieved one of the largest female ELN's I have ever seen in my life...probably only ever seen one bigger whilst diving a river in NSW. I had to look it over a second time to make sure it wasn't an expansa (broad shell) but nope, definitely an ELN. This thing makes my biggest girl look small. She was nice and quiet and didn't musk me which was a bonus. A couple of snaps and I put the big girl back... she'd be doing well in there, the creek is teeming with bait fish. No doubt at that size she is older than me... impressive specimen, made my day.


When compared to one of my ELN hatchies from last year... it's just incredible to think what hardships and close calls that turtle has overcome in its life to reach that ripe old age... I'd put it between 60 - 70 years old.

Next time you see a turtle on the road, give it the respect it deserves, there's a fair chance it was around long before you were.

 

[user 23122]

Hi all, Merry Christmas, I hope you all had a relaxing day with family and loved ones. I decided to take the opportunity whilst the city was dead quiet and hit the creek where I trap every summer for feeder fish. Had my 3 traps in the water less than 10 minutes and they were already teeming with fish so I wandered down to the edge to pull them in and saw the strangest movement like a head being retracted at high speed... I thought it must've been an eel coming to sus out the bait in the trap... I reached down into the murk and reeds and retrieved one of the largest female ELN's I have ever seen in my life...probably only ever seen one bigger whilst diving a river in NSW. I had to look it over a second time to make sure it wasn't an expansa (broad shell) but nope, definitely an ELN. This thing makes my biggest girl look small. She was nice and quiet and didn't musk me which was a bonus. A couple of snaps and I put the big girl back... she'd be doing well in there, the creek is teeming with bait fish. No doubt at that size she is older than me... impressive specimen, made my day.
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When compared to one of my ELN hatchies from last year... it's just incredible to think what hardships and close calls that turtle has overcome in its life to reach that ripe old age... I'd put it between 60 - 70 years old.
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Next time you see a turtle on the road, give it the respect it deserves, there's a fair chance it was around long before you were.

[automerge]1609147645[/automerge]
Nice one mate since we have this rain the waterways are teeming with life I spent all Christmas Day trapping various coloured rainbows out of my brothers creek near kenilworth and in 12 years I have never seen it so healthy and full of life last year you could not find a trace of water any where along the creek and now there are shoals of them no tilapia or introduced crap just pure natives flourishing it pretty much made for the best Christmas Day in a long time especially since we go there every year and usually it’s rather depressing

 

[Flaviemys purvisi]

[automerge]1609147645[/automerge]
Nice one mate since we have this rain the waterways are teeming with life I spent all Christmas Day trapping various coloured rainbows out of my brothers creek near kenilworth and in 12 years I have never seen it so healthy and full of life last year you could not find a trace of water any where along the creek and now there are shoals of them no tilapia or introduced crap just pure natives flourishing it pretty much made for the best Christmas Day in a long time especially since we go there every year and usually it’s rather depressing

Nice work! I've trapped many Rainbows and Pacific blue-eyes in Obiobi creek for my tanks. They, the rainbows, (in my opinion) are the most beautiful strain in the country.


I spent new year's day on obiobi creek a few years back now and caught a nice sized Mary River turtle then to my surprise, a Southern snapping turtle.

It is supposed to start raining here again tomorrow for the next week so I'll most likely be putting turtles out in the laying pit to get the last of my eggs laid for 2020.