📍 Location: Kitty Hawk, North Carolina 🗓 Date: May 26, 2026 🐾 Media: Image 🌿 Species: Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina ssp. carolina) 📝 Notes: Medium-sized terrestrial turtle commonly found in forests, floodplains, fields, wetlands, and suburban habitats across the eastern United States. Recognized by its high-domed shell with yellow or orange markings, sturdy limbs, and hinged plastron that allows the shell to close tightly for protection.
Primarily active during warm humid weather, this species feeds on insects, worms, mushrooms, berries, carrion, and other plant material while slowly foraging across forest floors and open ground. Individuals often shelter beneath leaf litter or logs during dry conditions and may remain inactive through colder winter months by burrowing into loose soil.
🔗 iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/365587694
