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Western Painted Turtle Portrait
I was driving through Wind Cave National Park when I saw this painted turtle on the edge of the road. Anything that I don't get to see up close regularly really intrigues me, and since turtles are usually found in the water, they often escape out of sight before I can get close enough for a photo. This turtle was on land and fairly cooperative for a few shots before I helped her away from the road into the tall grass where she was headed.
The painted turtle is the most widespread native turtle of North America. It lives in slow-moving fresh waters, from southern Canada to northern Mexico, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The turtle is the only species of the genus "Chrysemys", which is part of the pond turtle family Emydidae. Fossils show that the painted turtle existed 15 million years ago.
