For anybody that grew up near a creek and used to play in it with your buddies in the neighborhood, you were more than likely warned at least once to “watch out for the snapping turtles.”
Fortunately for me, I never had a run in with one of these creatures, and thank God, because these bad boys look nasty.
And after watching this video? I’m even more thankful.
According to Field & Stream, professional photographer Kerry Wix was fishing at Dale Hollow Lake in Tennessee back in 2015, when he saw a water snake poking its head from above the water, and appeared to be struggling and was staying stagnant in one spot.
So, Wix decided to grab his GoPro, and capture the event that was unfolding under the water.
Needless to say, what he discovered was pretty wild.
In the footage, you can see a massive snapping turtle had gotten ahold of the four-foot long water snake, and was slowly ripping it apart right underneath the surface of the water.
No matter how hard the snake struggled to break free, the jaws of the snapping turtle were simply too strong.
At one point, the snapping turtle lets go of the already ripped apart snake, almost as if it was about to spare its life.
However, that didn’t last long, as the snapping turtle grabbed hold once again.
Biologist supervisor and snake expert for the wildlife diversity program for the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries said it’s pretty rare to discover a snapping turtle taking down a live snake of this size:
“This is very rare to catch on film because snapping turtles spend about 90 percent of their lives underwater. You might see one cross a road occasionally or maybe a fisherman catches one, but typically, you don’t see these guys.
Sure, people have found snakes in the stomachs of turtles, but I would more likely have assumed that the snake was dead when the turtle found it.
You wouldn’t necessarily assume it’s able to take down a snake like this. I don’t typically think of snapping turtles actively going after big snakes. This is one ambitious turtle.”
Garig also estimated that the turtle’s shell is about a foot long, and weighed from 18 to 20 pounds, and was around 15-years-old.
He also estimated that the water snake was around four feet long, and the average water snake ranges from two to four feet.
