Teenage Mutant Duck-Chomping Turtles
Wardens at a British park have finally had enough. They have rounded up duck enemy number one, Snappy the snapping turtle. The turtle terror has been munching on pretty much everything he could, but was particularly fond of ducks. Snappy has dined well for the past two decades, however. He's massive.
When he was released from captivity 20 years ago, he was only a nipper.
But after munching his way through two decades of pond life - including countless fish and unsuspecting ducklings - this turtle has emerged as a 20lb monster.
His nickname is Snappy, his modus operandi ruthless.
Lurking in the depths, he spies young birds then uses his razor-sharp beak to drag them under and devour them.
Such is his size and insatiable appetite, wardens at Caldicot Country Park in South Wales deemed him a risk to visitors and decided to move him from his pond to a new home.
Fortunately for the wardens, Snappy was a male and, apparently, a bachelor. Because turtle traps are nothing to mess with. (By the way, if you look at the pictures, the head warden is lucky he still has all his fingers. Snapping turtles have very long necks and are very, very fast. They have been known to reach as far as halfway back the length of their shell to bite.)
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Blue Crab Boulevard » If This Is Thursday, This Must Be Turtle Day — Thursday, 27 September , 2007 @ 5:40 pm
By jpg, Thursday, 27 September , 2007 @ 3:38 pm
Back around 1982 I was driving back from college in Missouri when I saw a big turtle in the middle of the highway. I thought I would help him across the highway so he wouldn’t end up as roadkill. How’s that for a higher education? I pulled over and approached him. I figure he was between 10 and 15 pounds. He was BIG. Knowing enough to stay away from the front end, I tried to nudge him along. As soon as I touched him, he spun around (literally) 180 degrees and snapped at me. After that, I left him to take his chances on the highway. I didn’t know a turtle could hiss, but that one did.