Painted Turtles & Family

I came across painted turtles at the water hole south of the buffalo round-up corrals (in Custer Park) two weeks ago. I've seen an antelope and a great blue heron there as well. This looks like a family of turtles basking in the sun together. There are 6 small turtles; one is hidden behind the far-left youngster. The eggs (4-15 of 'em) take 72-80 days to hatch and it takes males 3-5 yrs to reach maturity and females 4-5 yrs. The young are supposed to be immediately independent upon hatching...looks like these kids are as 'independent' as a few teens I know/have known.


Speaking of family...I am hitting the road tomorrow, heading to N. Calif. to see my folks. I'm going to visit a wildlife refuge along the way and hope to have some bird photos from that. I'll also be posting photos of my trip...be forewarned, I'll be deviating away from the Black Hills! I'm sure I'll do some posts during my trip, as I'll be gone over two weeks. Y'all behave yourselves while I'm gone!