After 11 years of capturing, studying, and owning common snapping turtles, I have never seen mating behaviour. On 5/5/04 we were fishing at a local pond when we observed two common snapping turtles mating far out in the water. The male was mounted, and the female was swimming while supporting the weight of the slightly larger male. Once in a while the male would dis-mount, and they would both twist and turn in the water, creating loud splashes.
This all took place from around 7:30 to 8:00 PM, and after that the two separated and floated down the river leading into the pond. We captured the male, and took his picture. His carapace measured 16".As soon as I get the picture down to size, I will post it. But I thought you guys would appreciate hearing about this fantastic behaviour. It was just awesome seeing these large turtles locked together in this sort of behaviour.
