Br'er Terrapin Shuts Down JFK Airport Runway

Terrapins were crossing the runway to get to the other side...to lay their eggs.

Here's what a Diamondback Terrapin looks like:



I read about them recently in Robert Ruark's book The Old Man and the Boy. In one of the final chapters of the book, the Old Man takes the Boy up to Maryland to visit friends and also visit Johns Hopkins Hospital to be diagnosed with the ailment that killed him (not described in the book, I presume cancer). In this Great Depression-era story, the Old Man introduces the Boy to the delights of Terrapin Maryland, Bourbon, Sherry, and Burgundy (the alcoholic beverages called "tea" by the waiter (nudge nudge wink wink say no more!).

I would guess that, since Terrapin isn't much served for food anymore, that they've been slowly repopulating.