I feel as though people don’t respect the danger of snapping turtles enough.
I’ve accidently caught my fair share working the bottom for catfish and each time I would try to get the hook out of its mouth for a minute or so before realizing it wasn’t worth losing a finger over, cutting the line, and kicking it back in the water.
No, I don’t feel good about it, but when you’ve seen enough videos of just how powerful their bite is, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
The video above shows alligator snapping turtles, and while they’re stronger than the common one, both pack more than enough punch to remove a finger or two.
According to Baltimore’s National Aquarium, common snapping turtles produce a 147-pound bite force, which is well under the 292 pounds humans can produce, but still, you don’t want one of these to crunching down on you.
While they mainly eat plants, insects, worms, and small fish, this video shows they will gobble down anything they can get to if the opportunity arises.
Taken in Pillsbury Crossing, a wildlife area southeast of Manhattan in northeastern Kansas, we see a big snapping turtle hiding out under a rock in the stream. It seems to have noticed a watersnake that was perched on a rock a few feet away and was waiting for just the right moment to strike.
The guy taking the video was obviously excited about what he may see and starts urging the snapper on, and it seems to take his advice and begins slowly emerging from its lair, inching closer to the snake until it snaps out and grabs the watersnake before quickly retreating back to safety to chow down.
What a great sight.
Anytime you take a stroll by a body of water you’re bound to see turtles if you look closely enough, but it’s rare you see them do anything beyond swim around peacefully, so getting to watch one hunt, however briefly, is a cool moment.
Put some respect on the snapping turtle’s name.
@jeremiah.kilcoyne Some of my family and I decided to go to the #pillsburycrossing in #manhattankansas today. Besides a ton of snakes, we noticed there were two large turtles underneath a rock so I decided to keep my camera ready JUST to capture a photo to show the kiddos. This was MUCH better #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #turtle #snake #nationalgeographic #lunchtime #yoink #viral #kansas #creek ♬ original sound – Jeremiah Kilcoyne
