They live to be at least 40 years old, perhaps even longer. However, most do not make it out of the nest or live beyond the hatchling stage. Their enemies include muskrats, crows, r accoons and skunks which dig up the nests and eat the eggs and baby terrapins. Raccoons also attack adult terrapins. Many are killed by cars when they cross the road at the marsh edge to lay eggs.
New Jersey has turtle crossing signs to alert motorists an d protect the turtles.
However, people and their desire for terrapin soup, did far more damage to the terrapin population than all of these factors combined. In the 1700's, slaves on Maryland's eastern shore were fed so much terrapin that they protested. By the late 1800's, terrapin soup was a dish of the rich, so popular that 89,150 pounds were caught in the Chesapeake Bay region in 1891. Terrapins were the most expensive turtles in the world. Maryland passed a law in 1878 making it illegal to take terrapins between May and October.