This was a huge old snapping turtle and I think it was considering whether to come up onto the long dike at the conservation area, but there were quite a few people around and it seemed to think better of it. Not often that I see one so huge, so it is probably a great age. Nobody knows for sure just how long these turtles live, but it is probably well in excess of 100 years. It takes a long time for them to mature as well, and to mate and start laying eggs (usually around 17 years of age), so no wonder they are now considered a Species at Risk, as their habitat declines and they are increasingly a victim of roadkills. Yet it is still legal to hunt them in Ontario, which is ridiculous.