Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina)

-Box turtles are in decline and it already may be too late to save them from extirpation (extinction).
-It may take a female box turtle 8 of her reproductive years to have even one hatchling survive to adulthood.
-in more "residential" areas females lay eggs in yards where the nest gets sunlight to incubate the eggs. Another reason why box turtles are dying off and not being replaced in some areas - lawnmowers.
-Eastern box turtles can live to be 100 years old or more and some do, most live to half that age or less.
-Two other box turtles found in eastern US are Blanding's and Ornate Box Turtle (although, I think, neither in our area)
-basic ID info:
http://www.paherps.com/herps/turtles
-how to sex your box turtle (eyes are not reliable, some females have red eyes)
https://www.thespruce.com/eastern-box-turtle-1238467
-Box turtles have high “site fidelity” (one male was tracked for 11 years and made a 1,600 mile round trip every year
-Box turtle eggs and hatchlings suffer high mortality in natural habitats
-Reproductive capability comes slowly to a wild box turtle (can take over ten years for some to reach reproductive maturity)
-In a species like the box turtle, loss of very few adults is a significant blow to a population’s stability
-In the 1800s Iroquois in western New York state used box turtles for cultural and ceremonial practices. Removing adults depleted the box turtle populations and the Iroquois switched to snapping turtles. Now, 200 years later "in the remote, extensive habitat of those western NY locales, box turtle populations have not returned."
http://herpetology.com/belzer/boxturtle.htm
"Eastern box turtles are declining over much of their range. They are very susceptible to habitat fragmentation, and road-related mortality. They also suffer from collection as pets. Because they take so long to mature, it is hard for box turtle populations to recover from these pressures. Box turtles also possess a homing instinct. If you find a box turtle on the road, do not take it home with you and release it. A box turtle released away from its home range will often wander until it dies. Rather – if it is safe – move the box turtle to the side of the road."
http://bio.davidson.edu/herpcons/herps_of_NC/turtles/turtles.html
"After a single mating, females can retain eggs and lay them years later. Young box turtles are extremely secretive and are seldom seen."
http://srelherp.uga.edu/turtles/index.htm
-the oldest living box turtle? 145 years old?
https://vineyardgazette.com/news/2016/08/02/presidential-turtle
-hatchlings, from egg to three years old:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2012/3/11/1073198/-Backyard-Science-Eastern-Box-Turtle-Eggs-and-Hatchling-Turtles