I found this turtle in a pond near by my hometown. It is not a native species. May be that someone abandoned it, because it was to great for the little aquarium at home.

OOh a red (or yellow eared) turtle :-) if it has red on the side of its head it's a red eared as is in most cases over here. Indeed they are not native to Europe, but come from the warm areas of the USA (as Florida for instance) All over Europe they have been banned in the shops because to many have been put in the wild, because they get to big (45cm belly shield) and can be rather aggressive when handled, and will easily injure you when they bite. So they just get dumped, making havoc in the local animal chain, as they attack fish and water birds. But they are great to see them sunbathe :-) Great shots!! eternity65 · 2009-08-24: 15:00

Wow! How did she get there? LOL!! ????? · 2009-08-24: 15:27

very good color & nice composition. ????? · 2009-08-24: 17:31

Beautiful captures. smbunation · 2009-08-24: 18:00

The first composition is a real painting :-) hannamagnusson · 2009-08-25: 01:51

perfect comp in #1 slowpete · 2009-08-25: 02:09

Yes, the composition is excellent in #1! dontblink · 2009-08-25: 07:59

Awesome! Perfect composition 1#! ????? · 2009-08-25: 13:32

Wonderful composition in #1 and I favorited it. ????? · 2009-08-25: 13:51

#1 is very nice! It´s possible to expirence the same in Denmark, and you are right, they are set free because they grow to big. leifmaler · 2009-08-25: 18:30

Vielleicht gehr es ihr in der Freiheit besser! Bild eins gefällt mir auch am besten! Unchained · 2009-08-26: 13:09