Is there another creature on planet earth that looks as menacing as an alligator snapping turtle?
No, probably not.
Is there anything that has a scarier name than the alligator snapping turtle?
I think it is safe to say no. The name goes 2 for 3 on the scary scale, with only the word “turtle” being pretty benign.
You’ll see in the video, but damn are these things terrifying. They are known to be the largest turtle species in North America and can grow to be anywhere between 150 and 200 pounds.
This one is a little on the smaller side, but that doesn’t make it look any less intimidating. These things are more than capable of taking off a finger or two, or in this case, absolutely obliterating a gold fish.
The snapper can be seen in the footage “posting up” in a portion of the tank and playing a waiting game. Some of the fish mindlessly swimming around get too close for comfort to the alligator snapping turtle’s open jaw, but it patiently waits for the right moment to chomp down.
In the wild, snapping turtles are omnivores, eating really whatever they can to get by. Vegetarian options are lacking in the video, so the snapper chooses to settle for the fish dinner.
After a small adjustment by the gnarly looking turtle, the stars (or the fish rather) align. Eventually a poor white and orange gold fish swims within the snapper’s range, and it’s all over for the little fish before it even knows it.
Don’t blink, cause you’ll miss it:
It appears that the fish somehow makes it after the turtle’s initial bite down, but then the creature sends it down its gullet just as quickly as it chomped down. If you hadn’t already seen an alligator snapping turtle, now you see why you don’t want to put your hands around these things.
In the blink of an eye, your finger could be gone, just like that goldfish was.
And we can’t skip over the fact that the video pans to the rest of the fish in the tank after the initial attack. Seems a little inappropriate considering they just saw their fish friend go down like that…
Those fish have to deal with survivor’s guilt now, but that of course doesn’t bother the alligator snapping turtle.
Good thing gold fish are said to have a 10 second memory…
