dead turtles

Question
I have a lake and I am finding a large number of turtle shells that look like something has literally pulled the turtles from the shells. What could this be? And is there any way to stop or prevent it

Answer
Turtles have many predators and if the water is not deep enough or big enough to evade them, they can get caught.

Predator options include dogs, skunks, raccoons, and more- all of which are pretty common in the US.

Fencing is an option, as is dredging the lake to make it deeper. Trapping and removing predators might help.

Bottom line, though is there is probably not a lot you can really do here.