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:
- In their environment, they are at the top of the food chain, causing them to feel less fear and can be aggressive.
- Common snapping turtles are very aggressive if caught, and have a strong enough bite to easily cut off human fingers.
- 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!
- Hibernating snapping turtles do not breathe for up to six month if ice covers their hibernating site.
- 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?