Snapping Turtle

This little guy had just hatched, and was about two inches long. Snapping turtles get quite large though, we've seen them with a shell length over a foot.

I found a turtle nest that looked like it had been dug up by an animal (dog-like tracks all around). On closer inspection, I found this little guy having a hard time extracting itself from the rapidly drying dirt. I gently picked him up and put him near the water. He quickly crawled from the egg into the water, where I took a ton of pictures.