We found this little guy walking through one of our outbuildings on the farm. We have a pond and I assume he was out doing a little exploring. He looks pretty harmless right now but will grow up to be a big old mean snapping turtle. We would like to get ducks at some point so I carefully packed him in a bucket in my car and took him to a nearby creek so he can live out his days there. You normally can’t get very close to a snapping turtle (once they are all grown up) so I took advantage of the opportunity and “snapped” some photos now.

Fun Snapping Turtle Facts:

1. In their environment, they are at the top of the food chain, causing them to feel less fear and can be aggressive.
2. Common snapping turtles are very aggressive if caught, and have a strong enough bite to easily cut off human fingers.
3. Its flexible neck allows it to bite its handler even if picked up by the sides of its shell. Good thing Ryan was wearing gloves!
4. Hibernating snapping turtles do not breathe for up to six month if ice covers their hibernating site.
5. This common snapping turtle and the larger alligator snapping turtle are the only two species in this family found in North America. I found this cool video explaining the difference.

Do you have snapping turtles on your farm?