God save the queen

Being outdoors and enjoying nature is great.  I'd like to think that few can deny this.  Observing natural processes such as reproduction, defensive mechanisms, and feeding behavior can be an infrequent occurrence.  Being at the right place at the right time is key to witnessing struggles to survive.  One might walk through a prairie and rejoice in the presence of butterflies, but stick around longer and pay attention and you might see a bird swoop down and eat the butterfly.  It's a scary world out there.  Danger lurks around every corner, and in this case, from beneath the surface.

On July 3rd, Aimee and I were walking our dog Cassius at a creek in DuPage County, when I saw a snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) struggling to subdue and consume a queen snake (Regina septemvittata).  The turtle had a strong grasp on the snake's posterior end and was scraping at it with its strong claws.  It appeared that the snake was still alive, but barely; the snake made weak strides to swim away but was failing miserably.  It was forced underwater and was probably drowning.  The turtle, upon seeing me approach, released its grip on the snake and tried backing into a crevice underneath a large slab of limestone.  I picked up the snake, which at this point was weakly coiled at the bottom of the stream.  It obviously had been struggling with the turtle for some time before I arrived as evidenced by the debilitating injuries.  I placed the snake back into its watery grave where I found it and took the turtle out for a few pictures.  Once I returned the turtle to the water, it proceeded to eat the entire snake.

Queen snake tattered by the snapping turtle.

 With the culprit.

 My interrupting of this reptilian spectacle didn't do much to dissuade the turtle from continuing its meal.  After about fifteen minutes, the last of the queen snake went down the gullet and was history.