Turtle Lays Eggs In Sand Trap At Wildwood Golf Club

McCANDLESS (KDKA) -- If you play a round of golf at the Wildwood Golf Club in Allison Park, be extra careful around the fourth hole. Snapping turtle eggs are buried in the sand trap!

"Monday morning, our golf pro had noted a mother turtle laying the eggs, right back here in the bunker space," says grounds superintendent Tom Fisher

He says the golf pro snapped a photo as the turtle dug into the sand, and under the grassy area.

"Laid probably about a dozen eggs, and systematically covered them back up, to protect them."

If a golf ball lands within the roped-in area, it must be dropped nearby, as play continues.

"Everybody understands it," says the grounds superintendent. "Everybody gets that it's nature, and you don't mess with Mother Nature, specifically a mother."

Given the fact that a snapping turtle has a very large head and a powerful jaw, if you hit a golf ball into her pond, the best advice is, leave it there.

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Henry Kacprzyk, of the Pittsbugh Zoo and PPG Aquarium, says the Wildwood turtle picked a good spot.

"A sunny location, easy dig, rebury them. And the eggs, actually, when they hatch, they're hardwired to survive," says Kacprzyk. "There's no mom involved when she lays them. She's done."

He does have a warning for golfers.

"The eggs are round and about the size of golf balls. Don't try to tee up with one of the turtle eggs."