Mystical-looking ‘egg’ found in Alabama wilderness has logical — but odd — backstory

Nature threw a curve ball at biologists in southern Alabama, and it took the form of a big “egg” full of even more eggs.

The thin-shelled oddity was found by wildlife management staff at the 7,200-acre Geneva State Forest, south of Montgomery near the Florida border.

In some ways, the larger shell resembled a mythical dragon egg: misshapen, brown and cracked open.

“Like anyone who spends a lot of time in the field, our WMA staff often finds some pretty cool stuff,” the Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division wrote on Facebook.

In this case, closer inspection revealed the mishmash was, in fact, something alive growing inside something that was already dead.

The larger shell is all that remained of a deceased turtle. Inside was a nest of eggs, believed to have been deposited by a lazy mother snake that managed to avoid digging a burrow for her brood.

One of the eggs in the “nest” appeared to have been broken, showing her choice came at a cost.

State officials didn’t speculate on the type of snake. Alabama is home to 40 species, most of which “bury their eggs under loose dirt or in decaying logs, leaving the young to hatch and fend for themselves,” according to the Alabama A&M & Auburn Extension.

As for the turtle shell full of eggs: “It was left in the dirt to develop as nature intended,” state officials said.

This story was originally published April 28, 2021 at 5:05 PM with the headline "Mystical-looking ‘egg’ found in Alabama wilderness has logical — but odd — backstory."