snapping turtle

[-Jones-]

We got a creek behind the house and the other day this snappin turtle was sittin right in the middle of the bed.

It's claws were comparable in size to my little pinkie!

 

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[CarolinaDigs]

They can be mean creatures !! Our farm borders a swamp and we had one up on our patio a few years ago. Put a nasty bite on one of the dogs face. I took a stick > he clamped down on it and wouldn't let go!! I dragged him back to the swamp with the stick he was still bitting on

 

[Copperhead]

Saw a thing on TV the other day about snapping turtles...apparently they get their mean nature due to the fact that their shells are smaller than other types of turtles...seems they can't "retreat" into their shell totally to protect the all the soft spots like other turtles can, hence their need for an aggressive defense......

 

[fossis]

Mean critters those, I trapped them for a while a
few years ago, shipped them to San Francisco for the
asian markets.
What is really tough is getting them out of the trap
I had to hold the tail until they relaxed their back legs
then give them a jerk.

Fossis............

 

[VERMONTPACKRAT]

They are right friendly arround these parts...

 

[lumbercamp]

I was carrying one a few years ago, at arms length and it was so nasty it was snapping at weeds as I was was walking along. Even snapped its own foot a couple times. Dumb turtle.

 

[bedpanmoneyman]

My grandfather used to trap them down by the creek that bordered our farm. I also saw one on a golf course several years ago that had ahold of a duck's leg at the edge of the water. It let the duck go when I tapped it on the head with my seven iron. Best hit I had all day!

 

[wesfrye53]

FORE!

 

[artemis moon]

They can be nasty..and they grow very big around here. Last spring, we found one in the middle of a road after a heavy rainfall. My husband tried to move it to the side of the road with his foot and the thing clamped on to his hiking boot and would not let go. He opened his mouth when I hit him with a stick. My husband's foot was bruised the next day, but at least the turtle didn't get hit by a car.

 

[Copperhead]

He opened his mouth when I hit him with a stick. My husband's foot was bruised the next day, but at least the turtle didn't get hit by a car.

Well, he MIGHT have got hit by a car...but he definitely got hit with a stick ...another case of "tough love"..

 

[Nashoba]

I watched a turtle at Chain o lakes in Texas bite a huge chunk out of the side of a 7 foot gator. The turtle is an attraction to that place and is old and huge. Made short work of that gator let me tell you what!

Ever had turtle soup? Great stuff!

~Nash~

 

[hollowpointred]

yeah them boogers can break the crap outta your finger, maybe even snap it clean off. got to be careful around them.

 

[teverly]

I agree soup or baked ....it is excellent!!!

 

[EDDE]

never had it
id try it
i read a book once
about how in i think the 50s or 60s
they harvested alligator snaps hence y they are so rare
they found them with musketballs impeded in the shell
and stone arrowheads
thats a tough old cooter
always liked turtles since i was a kid and we would walk the creeks catching them
one time we caught a snappy it was so big(we were 12)
we had to put it in a 5 gallon bucket upside down(head in the bottom ) to carry it the 1/2 mile home
thing had to be 25 pounds or more ah the good old days

 

[fossis]

Years ago, while dredging a creek in AR, they
found an Alligator Snapper, (the large type) , that
weighed around 200 lbs.
These are very rare around here these days, & are
protected by law.

Fossis...............

 

[zztop357]

I don't know if you've ever saw a drag-line bucket.A few years ago, a private company was hired to dig out a ditch beside my parents house. The men dug up a turtle so big they had to balance in on the bucket.Before they could move it Arkansas Game and Fish had to come in and watch them move the turtle.Then they had to replace the turtle and cover her back up.It was in the winter. The AGF measured her and weighed her and estimated her to be around 150 to 175 years old!!! Yes it was a female alligator snapping turtle. This turtle is living in a ditch about 30 to 40 feet wide. She could take your leg off if you stepped on her. This turtle is very rare because of her age, we have lots of smaller ones.Just not this old.
Be careful out there!!!
ZZTOP.

 

[River Rat]

Nice snap of snapper. They grow big here too.

RR

 

[bushlight]

I seen one the other day about 12" across the shell.