Wonders of Nature

The answer to each week's Critter Quiz becomes the Featured Creature the following week.

Click HERE - the answer is there waiting for you!

If you have photos that you would like to submit for consideration as the Featured Creature
please email Wonders of Nature

I am a mammal. I am the most commonly seen mammal in Florida. My fur
is a mixture of brown, black, and white which when viewed from a distance
blend together to look gray - this is where I get part of my name. My most
famous feature is my big, bushy tail, which I use for balance, as a blanket,
an umbrella, a parachute and even to communicate! I eat a lot of different
things but my favorites are seeds and nuts. My love for these foods has led
to my reputation as a bird feeder bandit! There are many bird feeders that
are designed especially to keep me away, but not many of them can
outsmart a clever and acrobatic little critter like me! Who am I?

Matt took these pictures of
two different species of
box turtle in the Tampa
Bay area.

Here in Florida we have
four different kinds of box
turtle: the Eastern Box
Turtle (pictured below),
the Gulf Coast Box Turtle,
the Three-toed Box Turtle,
and the most common
one, which is named for

worms, roots, flowers,
fish, other small animals,
eggs and carrion. If you
want to see one for
yourself, your best chance
is to find a woodland area
that is close to a fresh
water source, these turtles
are often found near
streams and ponds.
American box turtles are all
in the scientific genus
Terrapene.

our state - the Florida Box Turtle (pictured above). This little turtle can be
found in open woodlands, pastures, and marshy meadows throughout our
state. Box turtles eat a variety of food, including snails, insects, berries, fungi,

· Box turtles are most famous for their hinged shell. When frightened, box
turtles retract their head, tail, and legs into their shell and clamp it shut.
They wait like this until the threat is gone. Young box turtles have several
predators, but because of this great
defense adults have very few.

· Box turtle's shells are not completely
hardened until they reach 7 years of age

· Their average lifespan is 40 years, but
they can live for more than 100 years.

· Box turtles can be dangerous to eat. At times they eat
poisonous mushrooms and the toxins may linger in their flesh.

· You can guess the age of a box turtle by counting the rings on the scutes
(plates) of the turtle's carapace (top of the shell).

· In general box turtles are omnivorous. For thier first five to six years, the
young are mainly carnivorous while they grow. Adults tend to be mostly
herbivorous, but they do not eat green leaves.