It's been almost a year now since we inadvertently caught our friend Duke, better known as the "Duke of Turtle." We've successfully kept Duke and this sunfish all this time and it's been a lot of fun, not to mention educational.
Today, Steve and Erik were at the local pond, playing around with some nets and trying to catch smaller creatures. Instead, we accidentally netted this guy. 
When we caught him, we thought that he looked a little bit like a snapping turtle, but he didn't have the ridge on the top of his shell that snappers typically have. We brought him home and after a little online research, found out that he was a "common musk turtle", which are native to this area. They're also referred to as "stinkpot turtles", apparently because they have glands on either side of their body that can emit a musky smell. Thankfully, we haven't experienced this smell yet.
Duke and his new friend "Snappy", so named because Erik still thinks it looks a lot like a snapping turtle, seem to be getting along well. We got them a fresh batch of feeder fish today and it appears that both have taken part in a little feeder fish savagery.
As has been the case with Duke, we hope to learn more about these turtles by observing them. So far, it's been fun. 
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