A cold winter turtle

By Aaron Horrell

The first week of January has been very cold with low temperatures at night dipping near zero degrees. A pond I visited was completely frozen over. The ice was clear enough that I could see down into the water below.

The turtle shown here is a common water turtle found in Southeast Missouri. It's a red ear slider, identified by its size, where it is and most importantly the shape of the shell.

The slider saw me and began moving slowly away as I photographed it. This proves that although the turtle was lethargic and would freeze to death in the open air, it was safe under the ice.