- Alright guys, so let's kind of
scout along this fence line.
Got something right here, wait a second.
It's a Blanding's.
Hundred percent, Blanding's turtle.
The second it starts to move,
I'm gonna literally just gun it.
(dramatic music)
Got it!
Yes!
(dramatic jungle music)
Beyond the shores of Ohio's mainland
exists a series of islands that most people
have never heard of.
No, they are not tropical
or lined with elegant white sand beaches,
but instead,
are a unique bio-diverse world unto their own.
These isolated bodies of land
have an incredibly rich history
that dates back hundreds of years,
and over time, they have also become
a refuge for a number of different animal species.
Today, we are exploring Middle Bass Island,
a location that I hold dear in my heart
for it is one of the first places
where I practices my animal
and adventure video-making techniques.
Here we go, that's a pretty good size of him right there.
See those old pictures of me in a straw hat and waiters
circa 2009?
Yep, that's Coyote Peterson looking for snapping turtles
in the Middle Bass Marsh
well before anyone knew who Coyote Peterson was.
This protected wetland is home to
a wide variety of creatures,
and earlier this year, I made a discovery
that was absolutely thrilling:
a population of Blanding's Turtles.
These elusive reptiles have a very limited range
within the Eastern United States,
and are considered to be incredibly rare.
My intention is to safely catch
and get one of these remarkable turtles
up close for the cameras
so that we can all learn about this unique animal
and why its environment
so desperately needs to be protected.
Yet, as we know, catching turtles
is much easier said than done.
- [Kids] Coyote, your hat!
Your hat!
- Where'd it go?
There it is.
(grunting)
- [Mario] Where's the turtle?
- Too deep, too quick.
Alright guys, so let's kinda scout along this fence line.
- [Mario] So, in terms of turtles, this is,
for you, this is like a rare animal.
- This is about as rare as it gets for turtles, guys.
Their range is so limited, and up here on the Eerie Islands
is the only place where I've only seen one.
Got something right here, another turtle.
Wait a second.
It's a Blanding's.
Hundred percent, Blanding's turtle.
That is the turtle that we are after.
Alright, Mario, get into position with the shot.
The second it starts to move,
I'm gonna literally just gun it.
(dramatic music)
(splashing)
Got it!
Yes!
- [Mario] Woo!
(laughing)
- Yeah!
That is a Blanding's turtle, ladies and gentleman,
one of the rarest turtles in the Northeastern United States.
Okay guys, let's set the scene.
Come on down here,
we're gonna tuck back into the underbrush
and get this one up close for the cameras.
- [Mario] Oh, man, nice!
- Wow!
What
a day
for an epic turtle catch.
Now, like I was saying as we were spying
that turtle from a distance,
the Blanding's Turtle is one of the rarest turtle species
here in Ohio, in fact,
the Eerie Islands are the only place
where I have ever seen the species.
Now, I wanna take a good, up-close look at this turtle
so that we can all appreciate it
for the perfect reptilian design that it is.
Ooh, I just so excited right now!
That was a tough catch, and exactly like I had predicted,
the turtle launched off forward,
and what I did is grapple onto all of the plants,
all of the sticks that are beneath the surface,
tangled the turtle up, and then was able
to get my hands on it.
Now, this is a very docile species.
Unlike snapping turtles, they very rarely will bite.
Look at his, I can put my
finger all the way in by its mouth
and all it wants to do is tuck in tighter
and start to close up its plastron,
but let's take a good look a the carapace,
which as we know, is the top of the shell
of the Blanding's turtle.
Now, it's not real distinct,
but you can see that speckled patterning
all along the scutes that are on the body,
and it's more distinct on the sides.
Let me turn it like this as well.
You see that?
Now, during breeding season,
that becomes more bright yellow in coloration.
Now, let's take a look at the plastron of this turtle.
Yellowish in coloration with dark black blotches.
It actually resembles the plastron of a wood turtle,
which is another species that is similar in size
to this turtle, but what's really cool
about the Blanding's is it has a semi-hinged plastron.
I don't know if you can see that from the side there,
but if I push a little bit, you see that?
It can almost completely tuck into its shell
like a box turtle, but not completely,
which leaves a little bit of flesh exposed.
I imagine that's why they developed all these
really tough scales that run along
the forelimbs and the hindlimbs,
and then, of course, you have these very sharp claws,
and I can imagine that as a predator,
that's not something you would wanna mess with.
Now, as this turtle begins to figure out
that we are not predators,
we are not trying to eat this turtle,
it is going to get comfortable,
it's gonna come out of its shell,
and we are going to see just how long those legs
and that neck is, and one of the most distinct signs
that it is a Blanding's turtle,
as compared to any of the other aquatic species
here in Ohio is the bright yellow chin.
Now, during the breeding season,
that yellow coloration is much more elegant.
It almost glows bright yellow,
and similar to a bullfrog, which as you know,
bullfrogs are amphibians, turtles are reptiles,
but that bright yellow coloration,
there we go, look at the extent of the neck there, wow!
Look at that periscoping ability.
Beautiful!
Now, what's unique about the body design of this turtle
is that you'll see it's very oval in shape,
and this is what's considered a medium-sized turtle
in the grand scheme of turtle species,
but that oval design makes them very aerodynamic
in the water, which allows them to move
through the dense environment that they're living.
If you point your camera down here.
Look at all this glop that this turtle is existing in.
Dense grasses, duckweed, and sticks.
So, this turtle can easily climb its way
through all this underbrush, and oftentimes,
you will see these turtles out this time a day,
early morning when the sun is just beginning
to get towards the noon hour.
What they're doing is basking,
and this large carapace allows them
to soak up the sun, then they'll head back into the water
to start hunting for the day.
Now, what does the Blanding's turtle eat?
These guys are omnivores, which means they will eat
both plants and animal matter.
Now, they specialize in eating small crustaceans,
like crayfish.
Also, arthropods like dragonfly larva,
but they have been known to take small fish,
baby frogs, and will even feast on the duckweed
and the plants that are in the wetland ecosystem.
Now, when I say this is one of the rarest turtle species
in Ohio, or in the Northeastern United States as a whole,
they also range up into Canada.
Now, they are considered critically endangered
in some areas and threatened in others.
Now, we have caught this turtle that's in a marsh
next to a roadway, which is crazy.
There's actually a lot of pollution in here, guys.
That's unfortunate for the turtle,
but it's a good sign that this sign is thriving.
This is actually a very healthy Blanding's turtle.
We've seen lots of frogs, lot's of plants
for this turtle to eat, and certainly lots of insects.
As far as crustaceans, eh, I don't know
that this is the environment for crayfish,
but I can tell you that this is one healthy turtle.
Alright, I'm gonna dunk him down in the water for a second.
Wanna make sure that the turtle is staying cool.
Gonna dunk him all the way down and bring him up,
and sometimes, this is all you will see, right there,
is just the carapace up on the surface.
The turtle can breathe and stay camouflaged
at the same time, and notice the speckling
on the carapace.
This turtle looks just like one of these logs, look at this.
So, if I bring this log over here,
and both were at the surface covered in duckweed,
it'd be very tough to distinguish between the two.
So, what would potentially eat a Blanding's turtle?
Other than river otters and maybe mink,
a turtle this size is only threatened
by human encroachment.
Now, what human encroachment means
is either the building of roads,
the destruction of wetlands,
obviously pollution is a threat,
but as long as this turtle stays healthy,
it is gonna have a very long and happy life.
Well, how cool was this?
Managing to find and catch one of the rarest turtles
in the Northeastern United States,
the one and only Blanding's turtle.
I'm Coyote Peterson, be brave, stay wild.
We'll see you on the next adventure.
Alright, let's let this turtle go
and then help it out by picking up some of the trash
in this environment.
Throughout my life, I have been fortunate enough
to catch a wide range of turtle species.
Yet, none of them had been as rare
or meaningful to me as the Blanding's turtle.
These beautiful reptiles are constantly under the threat
of human encroachment and face an unknown future
as to whether or not their species will ultimately survive.
To find a healthy population
in a remote and isolated place like Middle Bass Island
is incredibly promising for an animal such as this turtle,
and I hope that by sharing this news with the world
we can garner a greater interest for protecting
this location and the natural treasures that call it home.
If you are an inspiring conservation ranger,
make sure to check out this episode
where we show you a fun and easy way to help the environment
by cleaning up garbage in the wetlands, and don't forget,
subscribe so you can join me and the crew
on this season of Dragon Tales.
I'm focusing on a lot of the smaller objects.
There's a lot of tiny, miscellaneous, plastic pieces
that could go overlooked,
and those are quite dangerous because animals
could potentially swallow them if they're kinda bite-sized.
(deep rumbling)