This important find was reported to me by Rick Joosten. Rick found and photographed this Ornate Box Turtle on the grounds of the Arbor Hills Nature Preserve in Plano, Texas.
It’s been decades since I have last seen a live Ornate Box Turtle in the woods of North Texas. I’m glad to see that they are still around.
Great blog. I have just begun a project to catalog the wildlife at Rowlett Creek Preserve in Garland and stumbled upon this site. I know this is a rather old post, but I’m sure you’ll be happy to hear that there are still plenty of these turtles around. Over the last few years I have seen several at Arbor Hills and Rowlett Creek Preserve. And that is just the ones I have seen on the trail while biking. No doubt there are many more in the brush that I’m not seeing.
Thanks for the info, Drew! I agree with your assessment about the box turtles. I am still looking for my first Ornate Box Turtle, but I have found a number of Three-toed Box Turtles since this article posted. Maybe the box turtle population is starting to rebound!