They may not have mutant powers, but some large turtles are certainly turning heads on Boulder-area trails this summer.
During the past few days, a handful of hikers, bikers and dog walkers have stopped to check out some large turtles crawling across trails in the north Boulder and Gunbarrel areas.
And Boulder wildlife officials are warning people to steer clear of the breeding reptiles that can bite off a finger or toe.
One of the latest sightings was Wednesday evening, as Boulder engineer Steve Levin was riding his bike home along the Cottonwood Trail near Jay Road and the Diagonal Highway.
“I could see a woman with two dogs who was stopped” with her cellphone camera pointed at a strange lump in the trail, Levin said.
As Levin got closer, he could see the lump was actually a massive turtle, about twice the size of his bike helmet.
“I just absolutely have never seen anything that big here,” Levin said.
Jennifer Churchill, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Division of Wildlife, said a DOW reptile expert who saw Levin’s photos of the turtle believes it’s likely a snapping turtle.
Snapping turtles are native to Colorado, so Churchill said it’s likely the creature that Levin spotted wasn’t an escaped pet.
Colorado is home to four species of aquatic turtles and one land-based turtle, according to the Division of Wildlife. The snapping turtle inhabits lakes, ponds, irrigation canals, marshes and rivers located mostly in the eastern half of the state.
Eric Stone, division manager for Boulder’s Open Space and Mountain Parks department, said the warm weather is probably drawing female snapping turtles out of the water in search of sandy areas to lay their eggs.
“Most of the turtles come out at night,” he said. “They’re pretty secretive and shy critters.”
They’re also potentially dangerous, he said.
“A snapper that size could take a finger off,” he said of the turtle that was seen on the Cottonwood Trail. “I would recommend that you just leave them alone.”
Stone said turtle sightings are common in Boulder this time of the year, and that the critters can grow to be the size of truck tires.
On Monday, Boulder police were called to an apartment complex on Manhattan Place because an aggressive snapping turtle refused to leave the parking lot.
Janee Boswell, the animal control supervisor for Boulder police, said animal control officers were able to wrap the turtle in a blanket and move it to a nearby park. But it didn’t go without a fight.
“It kept trying to snap at them,” Boswell said.
Monday’s call was at least the third time this season that police have been called about a turtle.
On June 9, another Boulder resident came across a large turtle while biking between the Twin Lakes near Gunbarrel.
“I see lots of fun animals when I’m there, so I slowed, and saw the turtle,” said Phil Plait, who runs the science blog, “The Bad Astronomer.”
Plait said he stopped to take a picture of the turtle, which lumbered around for a minute before crawling down a bank. He captured the reptile on video as it did a “faceplant” off a log.
Perhaps slightly embarrassed, the turtle eventually turned around and went back the way it came, Plait said.
Plait said he’s heard rumors of a monster-size turtle hanging around the golf course along Rustic Trail in Gunbarrel.
Colorado’s turtles
Five types of turtles can be found in the state. The aquatic turtles — painted, snapping, spiny softshell and yellow mud — live in the eastern part of Colorado, in lakes, ponds and other bodies of water. The land turtle — the box species — dwells in prairies and sand hills.
Painted turtle: The official state reptile of Colorado. Recognizable by its red and orange markings on its belly and yellow stripes on its neck.
Snapping turtle: Spotted around Boulder recently.
Spiny softshell turtle: Recognizable by its leathery-looking back.
Yellow mud turtle: On the state special concern list, a precursor to the threatened or endangered list.
Box turtle: The state’s only land-dwelling turtle. Recognizable by the yellow stripes on its shell.
The Colorado Division of Wildlife
