NEW ORLEANS -- It's a marvelously ugly beast, with spiked and ridged armor, a sharply hooked beak, a fishing lure in its mouth and a nasty bite. But the alligator snapping turtle's hard shell holds ...

My first sighting of a snapping turtle this spring seemed an auspicious start to turtle season. Some teenage boys had pulled their car to the side of the road, warning lights flashing, and were out ...

Urgent warning to all bullfrogs, bluegill, California slender salamanders, Western skinks, green sunfish and pond sliders currently living in Santa Rosa’s Howarth Park: An alligator snapping turtle ...

Locally, turtles' nesting season runs from about mid-May to mid-June. Motorists kill thousands of turtles trying to cross roads to get to their nesting sites. Seven of the state's 10 native turtle ...

Cartoons often suggest turtles wear shells like removable armor. Those stories show turtles stepping out, swapping shells, or treating them like clothing. Biology disagrees. A turtle shell is not an ...